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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: bay · temple · court · clip · stock · coach

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. clip — a video
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. court — of law
  10. clip — for paper
  11. stock — goods
  12. court — for sport
  13. stock — shares
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. court — of a king
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. temple — side of the head

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