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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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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: jam · bowl · pound · sharp · degree · trunk · drill · spring

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. spring — the season
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. spring — of water
  6. degree — an amount
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. degree — temperature
  9. drill — the tool
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. degree — from a university
  12. sharp — clever
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. spring — a coil
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. jam — in traffic

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