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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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Word bank
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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: chip · race · perch · nail · club · stock · court · hand

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. chip — to eat
  4. court — of law
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. race — humankind
  7. court — for sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stock — goods
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. chip — for betting
  16. race — a contest
  17. court — of a king
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for golf
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. hand — help
  24. stock — shares

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