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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: temple · bat · season · foot · court · clip · kid · coach

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. court — of law
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. season — in sport
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. court — for sport
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. clip — a video
  22. foot — a measure
  23. season — of the year
  24. court — of a king

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