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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: chest · mate · ball · arm · mine · wind

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. mate — a friend
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ball — a great time
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — a box
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body

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