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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: branch · chest · arm · roll · court · chip · mine · race

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. race — humankind
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. court — of law
  7. roll — a list
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. race — a contest
  14. roll — a cake
  15. chest — of your body
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. court — for sport
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. branch — a division
  21. chest — of your body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chest — a box
  24. chip — to eat

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