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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pit · can · bore · degree · kid · mug · mine · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a cup
  4. degree — from a university
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bore — to tire
  7. mug — a face
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. bore — to drill
  11. degree — temperature
  12. pit — a hole
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — for digging
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. can — a tin
  24. pit — in a race

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