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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. net — in sport
  3. pop — music
  4. bore — to tire
  5. degree — from a university
  6. net — for catching
  7. pop — soda
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. degree — an amount
  10. track — a path
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. degree — temperature
  14. net — after costs
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. track — to keep track
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pop — to visit
  20. track — a song
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cold — an illness
  24. trunk — of a car

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