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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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468
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: spring · degree · bore · tear · field · temple · fall · bulb

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. field — a subject
  3. bore — to drill
  4. fall — to drop
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bore — to tire
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. field — for sport
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spring — of water
  12. degree — temperature
  13. fall — to drop
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. fall — the season
  24. field — farmland

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