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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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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 · last · net · pound · ground · deal · coach · plane

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. last — final
  3. net — after costs
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. net — in sport
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. court — for sport
  9. ground — crushed
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. ground — a position
  12. net — for catching
  13. deal — to handle
  14. court — of law
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. court — of a king
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. last — to go on
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. plane — a tool
  23. last — finally
  24. pound — a weight

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