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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: hand · kick · tear · degree · court · mine · coach · chair

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hand — help
  5. tear — to rip
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. court — of law
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. court — for sport
  11. degree — an amount
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. degree — from a university
  14. court — of a king
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mine — for digging
  24. chair — a leader

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