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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
468
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 · court · pound · spell · pass · key · prune · arm

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. key — for a lock
  3. land — to come down
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. court — of law
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pass — a permit
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — in music
  11. spell — magic
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. court — for sport
  14. land — ground
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. court — of a king
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. spell — letters
  20. prune — to trim
  21. land — a country
  22. prune — to trim
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pound — to hit hard

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