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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · kid · bore · court · capital · chest · roll · season

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. season — of the year
  4. rash — a series
  5. court — of law
  6. roll — a list
  7. roll — a cake
  8. chest — of your body
  9. court — for sport
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bore — to drill
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — money
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. kid — child
  21. rash — hasty
  22. season — in sport
  23. chest — a box
  24. court — of a king

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