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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ground · court · pitch · chair · mine · mouse · present · arm

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. present — a gift
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — crushed
  10. court — of a king
  11. present — there
  12. ground — the earth
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. court — for sport
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. chair — a leader
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. present — the time now
  19. pitch — completely
  20. ground — a position
  21. court — of law
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. chair — to sit on

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