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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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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: bass · bear · spring · content · pound · court · wake · rash

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bass — low music
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — a weight
  7. content — the amount
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. court — of a king
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. content — happy
  19. bass — the fish
  20. court — of law
  21. rash — hasty
  22. court — for sport
  23. bear — the animal
  24. spring — the season

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