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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: wake · court · foot · band · key · row · spell · ground

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. foot — a measure
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. key — in music
  6. ground — a position
  7. court — of law
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — a trail
  10. band — a music group
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. row — a line
  14. spell — letters
  15. band — a ring
  16. court — for sport
  17. spell — a short time
  18. court — of a king
  19. ground — the earth
  20. spell — magic
  21. row — to paddle
  22. key — for a lock
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. key — the most important part

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