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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 · kid · ground · net · board · staff · pop · degree

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. board — a committee
  4. net — in sport
  5. degree — from a university
  6. staff — a stick
  7. kid — to tease
  8. drill — the tool
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pop — music
  11. staff — employees
  12. pop — to visit
  13. ground — a position
  14. drill — a practice
  15. board — to get on
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — an amount
  18. net — for catching
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. kid — child
  21. net — after costs
  22. ground — the earth
  23. staff — employees
  24. drill — army training

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