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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: current · last · coach · field · land · mug · branch · bark

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. field — farmland
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. last — to go on
  5. mug — to rob
  6. land — ground
  7. current — happening now
  8. last — final
  9. land — a country
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bark — to shout
  13. land — to come down
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. field — a subject
  16. current — of water
  17. branch — a division
  18. last — finally
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. current — electric
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. field — for sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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