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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: scale · calf · ground · land · content · court · rock · pop

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. court — of law
  4. ground — the earth
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. court — of a king
  7. land — to come down
  8. content — happy
  9. scale — in music
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. court — for sport
  13. rock — a stone
  14. land — a country
  15. ground — crushed
  16. land — ground
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — to visit
  19. content — the amount
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. ground — a position

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