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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 · mouse · rest

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mate — a partner
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mate — a friend
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rest — a break
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mate — to breed
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ball — a great time
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. mine — an explosive

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