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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: scale · wake · temple · clip · kid · coach

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — to cut
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kid — child
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. scale — in music
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. wake — a trail
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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