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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.

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: can · court · race · charge · clip · chip · fall · fan

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. chip — for betting
  6. charge — a price
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. court — for sport
  9. race — humankind
  10. court — of a king
  11. race — the arms race
  12. fall — to drop
  13. can — a tin
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. court — of law
  16. charge — electricity
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fall — the season
  19. clip — a video
  20. chip — to eat
  21. can — a tin
  22. clip — for paper
  23. charge — in control
  24. can — to be able to

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