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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: swing · rash · track · kid · trunk · row · firm · net

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. kid — child
  5. firm — decided
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. net — in sport
  9. row — a line
  10. rash — a series
  11. track — a path
  12. firm — a company
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — to play on
  15. net — after costs
  16. swing — music
  17. track — a song
  18. kid — to tease
  19. row — to paddle
  20. net — for catching
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. firm — steady
  23. track — to keep track
  24. swing — in 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