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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: court · ball · hand · mine · ground · racket · chest · club

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — a position
  3. chest — a box
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — for sport
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. club — a group
  13. ball — a great time
  14. court — of law
  15. ground — crushed
  16. mine — for digging
  17. club — for golf
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. club — for dancing
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mine — an explosive

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