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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 · last · mine · coach · clip · bass · net · cap

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. last — final
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. net — in sport
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — to go on
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. net — for catching
  16. cap — a hat
  17. last — finally
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. clip — a video
  20. bass — low music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. net — after costs

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