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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: chip · pound · coach · court · pitch · bore · cue · kick

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — a signal
  3. kick — in football
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. court — for sport
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. court — of a king
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pound — a weight
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. court — of law
  15. bore — to drill
  16. chip — to eat
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cue — for pool
  19. bore — to tire
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chip — for betting
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pound — to hit hard

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