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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: rest · fork · content · pit · temple · net · coach · clip

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rest — what's left
  4. clip — a video
  5. rest — a break
  6. content — happy
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. pit — in a race
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. clip — to cut
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. content — the amount
  14. pit — a hole
  15. rest — what's left
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — in sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. fork — in a road
  21. net — for catching
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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