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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. content — happy
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — to handle
  8. fork — in a road
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. last — finally
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. last — final
  14. content — the amount
  15. court — of law
  16. ground — the earth
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. ground — a position
  22. last — to go on
  23. pound — a weight
  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