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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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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: firm · field · pitcher · mouse · arm · court · mug · clip

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. clip — a video
  3. mug — a cup
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. field — farmland
  6. mug — to rob
  7. mug — a face
  8. firm — steady
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. firm — a company
  11. clip — for paper
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. firm — decided
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. court — of law
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — for sport
  19. field — for sport
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. clip — to cut
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. field — a subject
  24. pitcher — a jug

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