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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: ball · sharp · hand · clip · wax · chair · key · arm

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chair — a leader
  10. key — the most important part
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. key — in music
  16. hand — help
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. key — for a lock
  20. hand — in cards
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wax — to grow
  24. clip — for paper

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