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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: rest · content · clip · court · key · last · coach · bay

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. clip — a video
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. content — happy
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. clip — to cut
  9. court — of a king
  10. clip — for paper
  11. key — the most important part
  12. last — final
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. court — for sport
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. court — of law
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. key — in music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — to go on
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. key — for a lock
  23. content — the amount
  24. rest — a break

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