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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: spring · pitch · wax · lie · arm · mine · ground · content

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. ground — the earth
  6. spring — of water
  7. ground — a position
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lie — to recline
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wax — to grow
  21. mine — for digging
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. spring — the season
  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