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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: scale · bass · degree · kick · trunk · cell · drill · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. drill — a practice
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — an amount
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. drill — the tool
  12. kick — in football
  13. bass — low music
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. scale — size or range
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bass — the fish
  19. degree — from a university
  20. deal — to handle
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. scale — in music
  23. drill — army training
  24. degree — temperature

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