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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 · net · rash · trunk · wax · patient · date · club

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. net — after costs
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bark — to shout
  11. rash — a series
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. date — the fruit
  14. wax — to grow
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — a group
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. club — for dancing
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. club — for golf

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