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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.

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: degree · bulb · bark · bass · drill · spring · wind · stand

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. stand — to bear
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. bark — to shout
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. spring — the season
  15. wind — moving air
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spring — of water
  18. degree — temperature
  19. wind — moving air
  20. degree — from a university
  21. spring — a coil
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the instrument

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