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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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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: object · track · ground · content · court · wind · pound · mark

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. content — happy
  3. ground — crushed
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — for sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ground — a position
  10. content — the amount
  11. track — a path
  12. court — of law
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — the earth
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. track — a song
  20. object — a thing
  21. track — to keep track
  22. object — to protest
  23. court — of a king
  24. object — an aim

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