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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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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 · net · rule · tear · temple · clip · kick · stock

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. net — in sport
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. stock — goods
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. tear — from crying
  15. net — after costs
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rule — a law
  20. stock — shares
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. net — for catching
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. rule — government

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