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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: mine · chest · arm · roll · bat · fine · nail · pound

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. chest — of your body
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. fine — high quality
  7. roll — a list
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pound — a weight
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fine — all right
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chest — a box
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. roll — a cake

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