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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: drill · ground · court · pitcher · cell · mine · bear · pound

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. court — of law
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. court — for sport
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. mine — for digging
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. ground — the earth
  13. drill — army training
  14. court — of a king
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. pound — a weight
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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