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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 116 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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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 · wave · staff · trunk · degree · court · nail · pop

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. staff — employees
  3. court — of a king
  4. drill — a practice
  5. staff — a stick
  6. drill — the tool
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — an amount
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. court — for sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. staff — employees
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pop — soda
  21. court — of law
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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