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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bat — the animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. fall — to drop
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. club — a group
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. perch — the fish
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fall — the season
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. race — humankind
  24. club — for golf

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