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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: pop · kid · degree · perch · tube · vault · drill · net

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pop — music
  3. drill — the tool
  4. tube — the underground
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pop — to visit
  7. drill — army training
  8. tube — a container
  9. degree — from a university
  10. net — in sport
  11. pop — soda
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. vault — a safe
  15. kid — to tease
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. degree — an amount
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. perch — the fish
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. drill — a practice
  24. perch — for a bird

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