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

Word bank: perch · dip · bore · club · tear · field · degree · tube

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. club — a group
  3. bore — to drill
  4. field — for sport
  5. tube — a container
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. perch — the fish
  8. dip — to sink
  9. field — farmland
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tear — from crying
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tear — to rip
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. degree — an amount
  17. bore — to tire
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. club — for golf
  20. degree — temperature
  21. tear — from crying
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. field — a subject

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