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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 116 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: drill · bulb · deal · degree · bass · sharp · bark · scale

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. drill — a practice
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bark — to shout
  12. scale — size or range
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. degree — from a university
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. drill — army training
  18. scale — in music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. deal — to handle
  21. drill — the tool
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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