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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: mate · saw · pound · ground · court · content · trunk · rock

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. saw — the tool
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. pound — a weight
  5. mate — to breed
  6. rock — music
  7. saw — the tool
  8. content — happy
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. court — of a king
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rock — a stone
  14. content — the amount
  15. ground — crushed
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. ground — a position
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — of law
  24. mate — a partner

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