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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: bark · rash · prune · degree · trunk · jam · mine · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bark — to shout
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. rash — hasty
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. degree — from a university
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. rash — a series
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. prune — to trim

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