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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: patient · bark · rash · band · kick · ball · game · prune

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. rash — a series
  6. band — a ring
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. rash — hasty
  16. prune — to trim
  17. ball — a dance
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. band — a music group
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. game — a match
  23. kick — in football
  24. ball — a round shape

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