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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: content · swing · pop · drill · present · degree · straw · nail

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. pop — to visit
  5. swing — music
  6. drill — a practice
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. swing — in golf
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. drill — army training
  12. degree — from a university
  13. present — a gift
  14. present — there
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pop — music
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — an amount
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. drill — the tool
  22. swing — to play on
  23. present — the time now
  24. nail — for a hammer

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