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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: root · track · clip · court · chip · cell · bowl · arm

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. track — a song
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. root — of a plant
  6. clip — to cut
  7. court — for sport
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. root — the cause
  10. cell — a phone
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cell — in biology
  19. court — of a king
  20. root — of a word
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. track — to keep track
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. court — of law

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