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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: rest · court · wind · snap · pound · file · firm · pop

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pop — soda
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. pop — to visit
  6. court — for sport
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. firm — decided
  12. rest — what's left
  13. file — a document
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. firm — steady
  17. wind — moving air
  18. file — a line of people
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. firm — a company
  21. snap — to click
  22. file — a tool
  23. court — of law
  24. pop — music

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