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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 · coach · season · safe · last · net · cell · hand

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. net — for catching
  3. hand — help
  4. net — in sport
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. last — finally
  13. season — in sport
  14. cell — a phone
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. last — to go on
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. net — after costs
  20. season — of the year
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. last — final
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. cell — in biology

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