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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · net · trunk · patient · rest · deal · rash · band

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rest — what's left
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rash — a series
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. band — a ring
  17. rash — hasty
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. band — a music group
  21. net — in sport
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com