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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: ball · last · snap · arm · present · chair · mine · pound

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. last — finally
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. present — the time now
  6. ball — a dance
  7. chair — a leader
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. present — a gift
  18. snap — to click
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. pound — a weight
  21. ball — a great time
  22. present — there
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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