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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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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: ground · drill · degree · band · bank · nail · cap · swing

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. drill — a practice
  3. swing — to play on
  4. degree — an amount
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bank — for money
  8. degree — temperature
  9. cap — a lid
  10. ground — crushed
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bank — for money
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a music group
  15. drill — army training
  16. swing — music
  17. drill — the tool
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. cap — of ice
  20. ground — the earth
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bank — of a river
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. ground — a position

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