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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hand · rash · race · key · pop · saw · chair · arm

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pop — to visit
  3. saw — the tool
  4. key — the most important part
  5. chair — a leader
  6. key — for a lock
  7. pop — soda
  8. hand — in cards
  9. key — in music
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rash — a series
  14. saw — the tool
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. race — the arms race
  18. pop — music
  19. hand — help
  20. race — a contest
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rash — hasty
  24. race — humankind

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