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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: last · wind · bass · mark · snap · court · land · pound

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. court — of law
  4. land — ground
  5. snap — to click
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. land — to come down
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. wind — moving air
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. court — for sport
  16. land — a country
  17. bass — low music
  18. mark — a grade
  19. last — finally
  20. mark — a trace
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bass — the fish
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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