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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · coach · kid · stock · scale · pound · bark · degree

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. scale — in music
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bass — low music
  8. degree — from a university
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. degree — an amount
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. scale — size or range
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stock — shares
  20. degree — temperature
  21. kid — to tease
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. kid — child
  24. scale — for weighing

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