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

Word bank: drill · race · cell · hide · court · arm

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. court — of a king
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. drill — a practice
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. court — for sport
  11. court — of law
  12. drill — army training
  13. cell — in biology
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. race — a contest
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cell — a phone

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