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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: race · sharp · can · clip · charge · object · last · patient

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. last — final
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — a tin
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. clip — to cut
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. charge — electricity
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. can — to be able to
  13. object — an aim
  14. object — a thing
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. object — to protest
  17. last — finally
  18. charge — in control
  19. race — the arms race
  20. sharp — clever
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. charge — a price
  23. last — to go on
  24. clip — a video

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