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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: bore · field · nail · kid · bark · mark · degree · bat

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. degree — an amount
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bore — to drill
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. field — farmland
  12. bat — the animal
  13. degree — from a university
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. degree — temperature
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. field — for sport
  20. kid — child
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — a subject
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mark — to pay attention

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