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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 120 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: court · mark · ground · pound · band · arm · straw · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. court — of law
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. ground — a position
  9. court — of a king
  10. band — a ring
  11. mark — a grade
  12. chest — of your body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — a box
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mark — a trace
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. court — for sport
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. straw — dry grass

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