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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. firm — decided
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. bound — tied together
  7. plane — a tool
  8. capital — a city
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — steady
  11. capital — money
  12. ground — a position
  13. bound — obliged
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — in music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. bound — certain
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. degree — temperature
  20. ground — the earth
  21. degree — from a university
  22. key — the most important part
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. ground — crushed

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