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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: rest · pass · coach · clip · saw · court · degree · kick

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. kick — in football
  3. court — for sport
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rest — a break
  6. degree — from a university
  7. court — of a king
  8. pass — a permit
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. clip — a video
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rest — what's left
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. degree — an amount
  17. saw — the tool
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rest — what's left
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. clip — for paper

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