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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: field · kid · bore · race · court · bass · foot · coach

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. field — for sport
  4. bass — low music
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. race — a contest
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. foot — a measure
  9. court — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bore — to drill
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. court — of law
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. bass — the fish
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — a subject
  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