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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: roll · pound · court · land · wake · fork · cold · object

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. court — for sport
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. wake — a trail
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. object — a thing
  10. land — ground
  11. fork — in a road
  12. roll — a list
  13. land — a country
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. object — an aim
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. land — to come down
  22. cold — not warm
  23. roll — a cake
  24. object — to protest

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