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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: band · fork · roll · bore · court · club · kick · degree

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. court — for sport
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. band — a ring
  12. bore — to tire
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. fork — in a road
  16. court — of a king
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bore — to drill
  23. band — a music group
  24. club — for dancing

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