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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · scale · racket · sharp · pop · tube · court · wind

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pop — to visit
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pop — music
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. sharp — clever
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. court — of a king
  12. land — a country
  13. scale — size or range
  14. court — of law
  15. wind — moving air
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. tube — the underground
  18. tube — a container
  19. court — for sport
  20. land — ground
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — to come down
  23. scale — in music
  24. sharp — exactly

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