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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: nail · bore · date · field · roll · wound · degree · rush

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. degree — from a university
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. degree — temperature
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bore — to tire
  10. wound — an injury
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. degree — an amount
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. bore — to drill
  18. date — the fruit
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. field — for sport
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rush — hurry

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