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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: rush · court · bore · charge · dip · degree · season · bound

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. charge — electricity
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. season — in sport
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. charge — in control
  12. season — of the year
  13. degree — an amount
  14. bound — obliged
  15. court — of a king
  16. dip — to sink
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rush — hurry
  19. bore — to drill
  20. degree — from a university
  21. degree — temperature
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bound — certain
  24. charge — a price

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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