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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: rock · wind · ground · content · cue · deal · bass · court

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rock — a stone
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cue — a hint
  5. cue — a signal
  6. content — the amount
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bass — low music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rock — music
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. court — of a king
  17. cue — for pool
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. deal — to handle
  22. bass — the fish
  23. ground — a position
  24. deal — a big deal

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