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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. suit — clothes
  3. row — to paddle
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. mine — for digging
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. content — the amount
  10. bark — to shout
  11. row — a line
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. suit — in cards
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. capital — a city
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. ground — crushed
  21. suit — to fit
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. capital — money
  24. ground — a position

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