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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: pound · stand · bass · degree · deal · kid

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. kid — child
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. degree — from a university
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. degree — temperature
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bass — low music
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. bass — the fish
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pound — a weight
  17. stand — to bear
  18. degree — an amount

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