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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: pitcher · trunk · degree · cap · drill · straw · season · net

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. season — in sport
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. season — of the year
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. cap — a lid
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. degree — temperature
  14. net — for catching
  15. drill — the tool
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. net — in sport
  24. pitcher — a jug

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