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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: mine · land · bass · content · coach · temple · arm · file

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. content — happy
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. content — the amount
  7. bass — low music
  8. mine — for digging
  9. land — a country
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. land — ground
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. land — to come down
  22. file — a tool
  23. bass — the fish
  24. temple — side of the head

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