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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: fall · kick · degree · deal · club · date

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. club — for golf
  3. degree — temperature
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. date — the fruit
  8. fall — to drop
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. degree — an amount
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. deal — to handle
  14. fall — the season
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. fall — to drop
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. kick — in football

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