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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: degree · dip · stick · bore · fan · club · kid · court

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. court — of a king
  7. kid — to tease
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to drill
  11. club — for golf
  12. dip — to sink
  13. club — for dancing
  14. court — of law
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bore — to tire
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. club — a group
  19. degree — temperature
  20. degree — an amount
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. court — for sport
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. fan — a supporter

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