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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.

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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: bass · pop · wax · degree · craft · bark · deal · rock

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. rock — music
  4. pop — music
  5. wax — to grow
  6. pop — to visit
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. craft — boats
  9. degree — an amount
  10. craft — a skill
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. pop — soda
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bark — to shout
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. degree — temperature
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. degree — from a university

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