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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: key · saw · pound · court · game · ground · wound · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. court — for sport
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. game — wild animals
  7. pound — a weight
  8. wound — an injury
  9. court — of law
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wound — an injury
  15. saw — the tool
  16. key — the most important part
  17. key — in music
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. ground — a position
  20. key — for a lock
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. saw — the tool
  24. court — of a king

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