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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 120 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 · tube · degree · pass · cold · firm · land · field

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bore — to drill
  4. degree — an amount
  5. firm — a company
  6. bore — to tire
  7. field — farmland
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. land — ground
  11. field — for sport
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — not warm
  14. field — a subject
  15. degree — temperature
  16. land — a country
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tube — a container
  19. firm — steady
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. firm — decided
  24. tube — the underground

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