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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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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: deal · bark · degree · firm · land · kid · ball · temple

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. firm — decided
  3. bark — to shout
  4. kid — child
  5. land — ground
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ball — a dance
  8. land — to come down
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. firm — steady
  11. land — a country
  12. firm — a company
  13. kid — to tease
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. degree — temperature
  17. ball — a great time
  18. degree — an amount
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. deal — to handle
  24. temple — a place of worship

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