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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: sharp · fine · coach · march · kid · cell · bore · land

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. fine — high quality
  3. kid — child
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. bore — to tire
  7. bore — to drill
  8. march — music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. march — the month
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. sharp — clever
  18. march — the month
  19. cell — a phone
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. land — a country
  22. fine — all right
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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