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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: degree · face · bark · net · prune · track · sharp · rash

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rash — a series
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rash — hasty
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. net — for catching
  8. sharp — clever
  9. degree — temperature
  10. face — to confront
  11. degree — an amount
  12. track — to keep track
  13. net — after costs
  14. prune — to trim
  15. face — to point toward
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. prune — to trim
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. track — a path
  21. degree — from a university
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. track — a song
  24. bark — to shout

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