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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: spring · kid · mug · court · wave · kick · row · bore

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. spring — the season
  3. mug — a face
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. court — of a king
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spring — of water
  13. kid — to tease
  14. court — for sport
  15. spring — a coil
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — in football
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bore — to tire
  20. kid — child
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mug — to rob
  23. row — to paddle
  24. court — of law

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