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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: court · swing · bore · kick · fall · tube · rush · hide

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. court — for sport
  8. kick — in football
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. court — of law
  12. bore — to tire
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. tube — the underground
  16. swing — to play on
  17. rush — hurry
  18. fall — to drop
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. tube — a container
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. fall — the season

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