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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. mug — a face
  10. capital — a city
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. kid — child
  14. capital — money
  15. deal — to handle
  16. kid — to tease
  17. mine — for digging
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. land — a country
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. degree — from a university
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mug — to rob

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