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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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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. present — a gift
  4. degree — temperature
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. present — the time now
  7. capital — a city
  8. stock — goods
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. present — there
  11. bound — certain
  12. degree — from a university
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. content — happy
  16. stock — shares
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — obliged
  20. lean — thin
  21. content — the amount
  22. wound — an injury
  23. degree — an amount
  24. capital — money

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