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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: bore · leaves · coach · rest · wound · degree · club · cap

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. club — for dancing
  3. degree — temperature
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. degree — from a university
  6. rest — a break
  7. degree — an amount
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. rest — what's left
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rest — what's left
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. cap — a hat
  16. club — a group
  17. cap — a lid
  18. club — for golf
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. bore — to tire
  22. cap — of ice
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bore — to drill

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