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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. 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 — pulled by horses
  2. rest — what's left
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wake — a trail
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. cell — a phone
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. sharp — clever
  16. clip — for paper
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cell — in biology
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rest — a break
  24. 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