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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.

Make a worksheet

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: chest · mug · pitcher · cold · mark · arm · court · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mark — a grade
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mug — a face
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — of law
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. court — of a king
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — a box
  15. mug — to rob
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. court — for sport
  22. mark — a trace
  23. cold — not warm
  24. mug — a cup

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