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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 120 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
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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: pop · ground · scale · net · key · hand · court · mine

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. hand — help
  3. ground — crushed
  4. net — for catching
  5. pop — soda
  6. court — for sport
  7. key — in music
  8. net — in sport
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. ground — a position
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. scale — in music
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. court — of a king
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. key — for a lock
  17. key — the most important part
  18. net — after costs
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ground — the earth
  21. pop — music
  22. scale — size or range
  23. court — of law
  24. mine — for digging

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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