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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: pitch · trunk · content · pound · mouse · court · band · drill

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. drill — a practice
  5. court — of law
  6. content — happy
  7. pitch — completely
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. content — the amount
  10. court — of a king
  11. band — a music group
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. court — for sport
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. band — a ring
  21. pound — a weight
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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