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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: wound · court · ground · track · pound · charge · snap · chest

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ground — crushed
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. charge — electricity
  13. court — for sport
  14. chest — a box
  15. charge — a price
  16. court — of a king
  17. track — a song
  18. chest — of your body
  19. track — a path
  20. pound — a weight
  21. court — of law
  22. charge — in control
  23. wound — an injury
  24. track — to keep track

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