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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: patient · branch · trunk · dip · degree · pound · file · bore

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. pound — a weight
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. dip — to sink
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. degree — an amount
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. file — a tool
  13. degree — temperature
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. file — a document
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. degree — from a university
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. file — a line of people

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