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

Word bank: deal · net · land · object · stick · degree · clip · kid

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. object — a thing
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. land — to come down
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. kid — child
  8. object — an aim
  9. land — ground
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. net — in sport
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. object — to protest
  14. degree — from a university
  15. kid — to tease
  16. deal — to handle
  17. net — for catching
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. land — a country
  23. net — after costs
  24. deal — a big deal

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