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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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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: march · bound · wax · land · cue · pound · ground · court

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bound — tied together
  7. march — the month
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. court — of law
  10. bound — certain
  11. land — ground
  12. march — the month
  13. land — a country
  14. pound — a weight
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cue — a signal
  17. ground — the earth
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cue — a hint
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. march — music
  22. ground — a position
  23. land — to come down
  24. cue — for pool

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