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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: chip · nail · arm · staff · race · clip · charge · mine

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. charge — a price
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. staff — employees
  5. clip — to cut
  6. chip — to eat
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. charge — in control
  10. chip — for betting
  11. staff — a stick
  12. clip — a video
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. race — the arms race
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. staff — employees
  18. charge — electricity
  19. clip — for paper
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — humankind
  24. chip — in a computer

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