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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: bat · race · club · chair · lie · craft

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. club — for dancing
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — humankind
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. craft — a skill
  7. craft — boats
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chair — a leader
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. club — a group
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. club — for golf
  18. lie — to recline

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