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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 · pass · bark · land · court · net · leaves · roll

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. roll — a cake
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. net — for catching
  9. land — to come down
  10. bark — to shout
  11. land — a country
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. net — in sport
  14. court — for sport
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. court — of a king
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. court — of law
  21. land — ground
  22. net — after costs
  23. roll — a list
  24. current — of water

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