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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 120 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 water is too ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bulb — for light
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cell — a phone
  7. face — part of the head
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. face — to confront
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. face — to point toward
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. kick — in football
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. bulb — for light
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. cell — in biology
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bore — to tire

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