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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. clip — for paper
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. staff — employees
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. clip — to cut
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. staff — employees
  13. march — the month
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. staff — a stick
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mine — for digging
  18. clip — a video

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