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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: rule · racket · club · bat · race · bulb

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bulb — for light
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bulb — for light
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. club — for golf
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rule — a law
  11. race — a contest
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rule — government
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. club — a group
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. race — humankind

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