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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: capital · sharp · race · arm · court · hand · chip · ground

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. court — of a king
  2. ground — a position
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. race — humankind
  8. chip — to eat
  9. hand — help
  10. chip — for betting
  11. capital — money
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. court — for sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. race — the arms race
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. sharp — clever
  20. capital — a city
  21. hand — in cards
  22. race — a contest
  23. court — of law
  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