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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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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: kick · chair · wound · court · arm · chest · track · mine

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. court — of law
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. court — for sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chest — a box
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. court — of a king
  13. mine — for digging
  14. kick — in football
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. chair — a leader
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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