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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: prune · mate · nail · bat · net · face · swing · rash

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. swing — to play on
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. net — in sport
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. rash — a series
  10. net — after costs
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mate — to breed
  13. net — for catching
  14. swing — music
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. prune — to trim
  17. swing — in golf
  18. face — to confront
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. face — to point toward
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. rash — hasty
  24. mate — a partner

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