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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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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: drill · ball · prune · arm · cap · chest · court · temple

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. cap — of ice
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. court — for sport
  7. drill — a practice
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cap — a hat
  11. chest — a box
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. court — of law
  17. drill — army training
  18. court — of a king
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cap — a lid
  24. ball — a great time

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