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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: arm · clip · chair · temple · mine · hand · court · wound

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. hand — help
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. court — of a king
  5. clip — to cut
  6. wound — an injury
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. chair — a leader
  11. clip — a video
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. mine — for digging
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. wound — an injury
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. court — for sport
  20. hand — in cards
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. clip — for paper

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