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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: degree · drill · wound · race · staff · perch · object · net

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. object — a thing
  3. staff — a stick
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. race — a contest
  6. object — an aim
  7. degree — temperature
  8. drill — the tool
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. degree — an amount
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. degree — from a university
  14. drill — army training
  15. net — after costs
  16. object — to protest
  17. wound — an injury
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. race — the arms race
  22. perch — the fish
  23. race — humankind
  24. drill — a practice

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