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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: kick · drill · lean · trunk · nail · degree · pound · tube

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. kick — in football
  3. lean — thin
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pound — a weight
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. lean — to bend
  9. drill — army training
  10. tube — a container
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. degree — temperature
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. degree — from a university
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. trunk — of a tree

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