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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: chair · arm · nail · drill · wake · cue · race · spring

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. race — the arms race
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cue — a hint
  6. drill — the tool
  7. race — a contest
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chair — a leader
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cue — for pool
  15. drill — army training
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spring — of water
  18. race — humankind
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cue — a signal
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. drill — a practice
  24. spring — the season

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