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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: ground · content · court · spring · cue · last · wave · lean

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. spring — of water
  4. last — to go on
  5. spring — a coil
  6. content — the amount
  7. cue — a signal
  8. content — happy
  9. cue — for pool
  10. ground — a position
  11. lean — to bend
  12. spring — the season
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. court — for sport
  16. lean — thin
  17. last — finally
  18. last — final
  19. court — of a king
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. court — of law
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cue — a hint

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