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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: degree · pop · drill · nail · tube · vault · bark · rash

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bark — to shout
  4. pop — soda
  5. degree — temperature
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. drill — the tool
  9. rash — hasty
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pop — music
  12. tube — the underground
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. drill — army training
  16. vault — a safe
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rash — a series
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. tube — a container
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. degree — from a university
  23. tube — in a tire
  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