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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 120 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: coach · club · march · court · band · rock · net · current

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rock — music
  4. current — of water
  5. net — after costs
  6. court — of a king
  7. current — happening now
  8. court — of law
  9. club — a group
  10. band — a music group
  11. net — for catching
  12. club — for golf
  13. current — electric
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. march — the month
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. rock — a stone
  18. march — the month
  19. court — for sport
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. band — a ring
  22. club — for dancing
  23. march — music
  24. net — in sport

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