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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: drill · clip · rest · coach · scale · temple · sharp · net

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. clip — a video
  9. net — in sport
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. clip — for paper
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. scale — in music
  15. drill — army training
  16. net — for catching
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. drill — the tool
  19. rest — a break
  20. scale — size or range
  21. drill — a practice
  22. net — after costs
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — what's left

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