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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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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: mate · vault · race · clip · chip · bass · nail · court

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mate — to breed
  3. court — of law
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. court — for sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. chip — for betting
  8. race — humankind
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. clip — to cut
  11. race — a contest
  12. clip — a video
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mate — a partner
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. bass — the fish
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bass — low music
  20. court — of a king
  21. mate — a friend
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. nail — for a hammer

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