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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. toast — bread
  5. capital — a city
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ground — crushed
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. capital — money
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. stock — goods
  13. ground — the earth
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. ground — a position
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. degree — temperature
  21. face — part of the head
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. stock — shares
  24. dip — to sink

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