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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 116 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: rash · trunk · rest · deal · craft · net · cold · content

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. craft — boats
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. content — happy
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rest — a break
  11. net — for catching
  12. content — the amount
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. net — in sport
  16. rash — hasty
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. cold — not warm
  19. craft — a skill
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rest — what's left
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. net — after costs
  24. rash — a series

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