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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: court · hand · pound · hide · bear · ground · spring · stock

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pound — a weight
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bear — the animal
  6. spring — of water
  7. bear — the animal
  8. court — of a king
  9. hand — help
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. court — for sport
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. ground — crushed
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. ground — the earth
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. court — of law
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. stock — goods
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. hand — in cards

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