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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: bulb · degree · kick · wound · clip · bore · mine · stem

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bulb — for light
  3. mine — for digging
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bulb — for light
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bore — to drill
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. clip — to cut
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. wound — an injury
  21. clip — a video
  22. bore — to tire
  23. kick — in football
  24. mine — belonging to me

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