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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rush — hurry
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. court — of law
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. ground — the earth
  9. capital — money
  10. ground — a position
  11. pound — a weight
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fork — in a road
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. court — of a king
  19. saw — the tool
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. ground — crushed
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. capital — a city
  24. saw — the tool

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