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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: club · race · chest · pass · bat · chip

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bat — the animal
  4. club — a group
  5. race — a contest
  6. pass — a permit
  7. chest — a box
  8. chip — to eat
  9. race — humankind
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. chest — of your body

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