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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 120 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. deal — to handle
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spell — magic
  5. capital — money
  6. content — happy
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spell — letters
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. capital — a city
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. degree — an amount
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — a position
  19. mark — a trace
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. degree — from a university
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. spell — a short time
  24. degree — temperature

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