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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 116 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: court · tear · rush · present · bore · kid · coach · bass

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. present — a gift
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. court — for sport
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. present — there
  7. rush — hurry
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. court — of law
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. court — of a king
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bore — to tire
  18. tear — to rip
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bore — to drill
  21. kid — child
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bass — low music

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