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

Word bank: trunk · degree · rule · date · kid · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. date — the fruit
  5. rule — government
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. kid — to tease
  8. degree — an amount
  9. deal — to handle
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — temperature
  12. rule — a law
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. kid — child
  18. date — on the calendar

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