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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: court · ground · safe · key · mine · rock · chair · pound

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. key — the most important part
  4. rock — music
  5. chair — a leader
  6. court — of a king
  7. key — in music
  8. mine — for digging
  9. court — for sport
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. rock — a stone
  17. pound — a weight
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. ground — a position
  20. key — for a lock
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. court — of law
  24. ground — the earth

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