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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: drill · bark · pop · band · current · board · net · degree

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. degree — an amount
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pop — soda
  9. net — in sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. drill — the tool
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. band — a ring
  15. drill — army training
  16. pop — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. net — after costs
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pop — to visit
  23. net — for catching
  24. board — to get on

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