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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: content · net · shower · degree · swing · board · mark · drill

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. board — a committee
  3. net — in sport
  4. drill — army training
  5. drill — the tool
  6. degree — temperature
  7. drill — a practice
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mark — a grade
  11. degree — an amount
  12. net — after costs
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. net — for catching
  16. content — happy
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. board — to get on
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — in golf
  21. shower — rain
  22. mark — a trace
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. swing — music

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