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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: pop · bark · ground · swing · court · net · bound · kid

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. net — in sport
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. court — of a king
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. bark — to shout
  8. bound — tied together
  9. swing — music
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pop — soda
  12. swing — to play on
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pop — music
  15. bound — certain
  16. ground — crushed
  17. net — after costs
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pop — to visit
  20. kid — child
  21. net — for catching
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. swing — in golf
  24. court — for sport

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