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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: wound · drill · dip · race · kick · kid · coach · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. kick — in football
  4. bore — to tire
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. race — a contest
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. drill — army training
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — the arms race
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. race — humankind
  16. drill — a practice
  17. dip — to sink
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bore — to drill
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. wound — an injury

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