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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 · kick · bass · chest · stick

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. club — for dancing
  4. race — humankind
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. race — a contest
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. race — the arms race
  12. kick — in football
  13. club — for golf
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box

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