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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: chair · wake · racket · arm · cap · race · shower · ball

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. race — humankind
  3. ball — a dance
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. shower — to wash
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. shower — rain
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. cap — a hat
  15. race — the arms race
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cap — of ice
  18. race — a contest
  19. ball — a great time
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cap — a lid
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. wake — a trail

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