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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: pound · object · chair · ground · shower · rush · court · land

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. chair — a leader
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. court — of law
  6. ground — crushed
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. rush — hurry
  12. object — a thing
  13. shower — rain
  14. land — a country
  15. court — for sport
  16. shower — to wash
  17. ground — a position
  18. court — of a king
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. land — ground
  21. object — to protest
  22. land — to come down
  23. pound — a weight
  24. chair — to sit on

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