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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: court · bore · trunk · cap · hand · race · cell · last

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. cap — of ice
  4. race — humankind
  5. bore — to tire
  6. race — the arms race
  7. bore — to drill
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cap — a hat
  13. court — of law
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. court — for sport
  16. last — to go on
  17. cell — in biology
  18. race — a contest
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. cap — a lid

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