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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: drill · arm · squash · mouse · cap · cabinet · bat · race

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  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. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. cap — of ice
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. squash — the sport
  8. race — a contest
  9. drill — army training
  10. squash — to crush
  11. drill — the tool
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. race — the arms race
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bat — the animal
  16. drill — a practice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. race — humankind
  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