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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. face — to point toward
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. degree — from a university
  5. capital — money
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. face — part of the head
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. degree — temperature
  10. plane — a tool
  11. capital — a city
  12. face — to confront
  13. clip — for paper
  14. degree — an amount
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. clip — to cut
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. firm — steady
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. firm — decided
  22. clip — a video
  23. firm — a company
  24. content — happy

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