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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: net · cue · coach · bark · stem · scale · degree · fine

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. scale — in music
  3. net — in sport
  4. cue — a hint
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. fine — high quality
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cue — for pool
  11. fine — all right
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. cue — a signal
  15. net — after costs
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. net — for catching
  19. degree — temperature
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. degree — from a university
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. scale — for weighing

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