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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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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: ball · race · land · trunk · kid · drill · arm · pop

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. land — ground
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. ball — a great time
  5. kid — to tease
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. drill — army training
  10. land — a country
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — music
  13. land — to come down
  14. kid — child
  15. race — the arms race
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pop — to visit
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. race — humankind
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. race — a contest
  23. ball — a dance
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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