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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: court · hide · fork · stock · pound · content · temple · ground

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ground — crushed
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. court — of law
  9. court — for sport
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. fork — in a road
  12. content — the amount
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. content — happy
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. court — of a king
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. pound — to hit hard

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