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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: bark · racket · court · current · row · wax · content · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. current — of water
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wax — to grow
  5. row — a line
  6. current — happening now
  7. content — the amount
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. current — electric
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. court — for sport
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. bark — to shout
  17. court — of a king
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. content — happy
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. court — of law
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. racket — for tennis

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