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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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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 · court · nail · root · arm · wake · race · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. drill — the tool
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. court — of law
  7. court — of a king
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. fine — high quality
  11. court — for sport
  12. root — of a plant
  13. drill — army training
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wake — a trail
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. race — a contest
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. race — humankind
  20. drill — a practice
  21. root — the cause
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. race — the arms race
  24. root — of a word

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