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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: coach · kid · foot · clip · ruler · last · fall · wake

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. kid — child
  3. fall — the season
  4. last — finally
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. foot — a measure
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. last — to go on
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. clip — for paper
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. clip — a video
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. last — final

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