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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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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: wound · stem · current · degree · dip · shower · mine · bore

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. bore — to drill
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bore — to tire
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stem — to come from
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. current — of water
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. degree — temperature
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. current — happening now
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. degree — from a university
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. current — electric

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