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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: drill · degree · track · trunk · swing · bat · pound · press

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. bat — the animal
  6. drill — the tool
  7. track — a song
  8. drill — army training
  9. swing — music
  10. press — to push
  11. degree — temperature
  12. degree — an amount
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. swing — to play on
  15. degree — from a university
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. press — a publisher
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. drill — a practice
  22. swing — in golf
  23. press — newspapers
  24. track — a path

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