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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: bore · degree · temple · bulb · cap · drill · kick · spring

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bore — to drill
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. drill — army training
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. drill — a practice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. degree — temperature
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — of ice
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kick — in football
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. spring — of water
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. degree — from a university

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