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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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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: deal · tube · kick · bore · pound · kid · court · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. court — of law
  5. bore — to drill
  6. court — for sport
  7. tube — the underground
  8. deal — to handle
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. kid — child
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. tube — a container
  19. kick — in football
  20. bore — to tire
  21. court — of a king
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pound — a weight

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