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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 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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. key — for a lock
  3. deal — to handle
  4. land — a country
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. key — the most important part
  9. land — to come down
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. degree — from a university
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kick — in football
  16. wind — moving air
  17. key — in music
  18. land — ground
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. degree — temperature
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — child
  23. kid — to tease
  24. degree — an amount

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