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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: race · club · calf · court · patient · chair

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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 golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. race — a contest
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. race — the arms race
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. court — for sport
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. club — a group
  16. court — of law
  17. chair — a leader
  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