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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
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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 · land · can · clip · race · spell · chair · arm

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. land — ground
  3. race — a contest
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. can — a tin
  7. race — humankind
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. land — a country
  11. chair — a leader
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ball — a dance
  14. can — to be able to
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. can — a tin
  17. land — to come down
  18. spell — magic
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. ball — a great time
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — a short time
  23. race — the arms race
  24. arm — part of the body

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