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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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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: shower · chair · lash · ruler · arm · trunk · hand · court

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. court — of a king
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. court — of law
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. hand — in cards
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. shower — rain
  16. hand — help
  17. court — for sport
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. ruler — for measuring

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