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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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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: bore · kick · cold · arm · court · key · prune · nail

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. court — of a king
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. bore — to tire
  7. key — the most important part
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. key — in music
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bore — to drill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kick — in football
  21. key — for a lock
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of law
  24. nail — on a finger

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