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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 120 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: rash · land · sharp · court · clip · cap · foot · race

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. clip — to cut
  6. land — ground
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. race — the arms race
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. race — humankind
  11. court — for sport
  12. clip — a video
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. cap — a lid
  15. cap — of ice
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rash — a series
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rash — hasty
  20. race — a contest
  21. cap — a hat
  22. foot — a measure
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. foot — the bottom

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