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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
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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: fan · mine · ground · content · trunk · court · pitcher · current

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. ground — crushed
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. court — of law
  5. current — electric
  6. ground — a position
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. content — happy
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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