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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: land · pound · ground · coach · pop · rest · arm · cell

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. land — ground
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cell — in biology
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rest — a break
  9. land — to come down
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ground — a position
  12. land — a country
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. pound — a weight
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pop — music
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pop — soda
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rest — what's left
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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