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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.

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: mine · coach · fan · kid · degree · court · bore · ball

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. ball — a dance
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kid — child
  8. degree — temperature
  9. court — for sport
  10. ball — a great time
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. degree — an amount
  15. bore — to drill
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — of law
  18. kid — to tease
  19. degree — from a university
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. court — of a king
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. fan — a supporter

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