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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: bore · degree · bulb · cell · track · pass · clip · file

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bore — to drill
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. clip — a video
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. degree — an amount
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bulb — for light
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. clip — to cut
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bore — to tire
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pass — a permit
  16. file — a document
  17. bulb — for light
  18. degree — temperature
  19. track — a song
  20. cell — a phone
  21. degree — from a university
  22. track — to keep track
  23. file — a tool
  24. track — a path

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