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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 116 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 · wake · rash · pop · degree · content · pound · can

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pop — music
  3. can — a tin
  4. wake — a trail
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pound — a weight
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. rash — a series
  9. can — to be able to
  10. degree — an amount
  11. court — for sport
  12. can — a tin
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. degree — from a university
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — happy
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pop — soda
  21. content — the amount
  22. court — of law
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. pound — for dogs

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