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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: perch · last · wound · key · temple · bat · coach · clip

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. key — for a lock
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — final
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. key — in music
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. clip — to cut
  13. last — finally
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. wound — an injury
  16. clip — for paper
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. key — the most important part
  20. perch — the fish
  21. last — to go on
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. clip — a video
  24. coach — a trainer

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