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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 120 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: degree · coach · stand · game · season · hand · rest · bore

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stand — to bear
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — in sport
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. game — a match
  12. hand — in cards
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. season — of the year
  15. degree — from a university
  16. rest — a break
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. degree — an amount

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