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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 · row · chest · club · race · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. 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. cell — in biology
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chest — a box
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cell — a phone
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chest — of your body
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. club — a group
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. row — a line
  18. 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