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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: bark · cell · field · degree · nail · rock · bore · wind

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bore — to drill
  4. rock — a stone
  5. cell — a phone
  6. field — for sport
  7. bore — to tire
  8. field — farmland
  9. degree — an amount
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. field — a subject
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rock — music
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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