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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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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. spell — magic
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spell — a short time
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. net — after costs
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wake — a trail
  10. lie — to recline
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. court — of law
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. spell — letters
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. clip — a video
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. court — of a king
  23. court — for sport
  24. coach — a trainer

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