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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: net · trunk · swing · kid · drill · roll · degree · staff

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. net — in sport
  3. swing — music
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. degree — an amount
  6. drill — the tool
  7. staff — employees
  8. degree — from a university
  9. drill — a practice
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. roll — a list
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. swing — to play on
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. kid — to tease
  19. drill — army training
  20. swing — in golf
  21. kid — child
  22. roll — a cake
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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