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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 · mate · pit · cold · bound · land · court · foot

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. bound — certain
  4. land — a country
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — of your body
  8. court — of law
  9. mate — a friend
  10. court — for sport
  11. foot — a measure
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pit — in a race
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. cold — an illness
  20. court — of a king
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cold — not warm
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — to breed

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