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

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. deal — to handle
  3. content — the amount
  4. degree — an amount
  5. content — happy
  6. firm — decided
  7. capital — a city
  8. firm — a company
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lie — to recline
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. degree — temperature
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wax — to grow
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. firm — steady
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. degree — from a university

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