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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. ground — the earth
  4. degree — from a university
  5. cap — of ice
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bear — the animal
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ground — crushed
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. capital — a city
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bear — the animal
  16. capital — money
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. ground — a position
  21. cap — a lid
  22. degree — an amount
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. content — the amount

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