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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: court · straw · racket · pound · safe · content · track · ground

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ground — crushed
  3. content — happy
  4. court — of a king
  5. ground — the earth
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. track — a song
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. track — a path
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. court — of law
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. ground — a position
  18. content — the amount
  19. track — to keep track
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. court — for sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pound — a weight
  24. safe — out of danger

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