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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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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: chest · mine · lie · wake · can · pitcher · arm · ground

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mine — for digging
  3. ground — the earth
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. ground — a position
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. can — to be able to
  15. can — a tin
  16. ground — crushed
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wake — a trail
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chest — a box
  22. can — a tin
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pitcher — a jug

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