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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. tube — the underground
  6. ball — a dance
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. court — of law
  9. ground — a position
  10. pound — a weight
  11. land — to come down
  12. court — of a king
  13. land — ground
  14. court — for sport
  15. tube — a container
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. land — a country
  19. ground — crushed
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. ground — the earth
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. stand — for spectators

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