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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. race — the arms race
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bore — to tire
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. race — humankind
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. fall — the season
  10. bore — to drill
  11. drill — a practice
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. drill — the tool
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. race — a contest
  17. drill — army training
  18. chair — a leader

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