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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: net · present · bark · current · coach · stem · club · season

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  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. coach — pulled by horses
  2. net — after costs
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. present — there
  6. current — electric
  7. season — of the year
  8. present — the time now
  9. season — in sport
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. net — in sport
  13. club — a group
  14. net — for catching
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — for golf
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. present — a gift
  23. current — happening now
  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