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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: drill · bore · mine · land · dip · degree · stock · bulb

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. degree — temperature
  3. degree — an amount
  4. land — ground
  5. stock — goods
  6. bore — to tire
  7. land — to come down
  8. drill — army training
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bore — to drill
  12. land — a country
  13. bulb — for light
  14. stock — shares
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. drill — the tool
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. mine — for digging
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. drill — a practice
  23. degree — from a university
  24. dip — to sink

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