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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: racket · bat · cold · craft · club · stand · chair · ball

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. craft — boats
  3. club — a group
  4. craft — a skill
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stand — to bear
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cold — an illness
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a leader
  18. ball — a great time
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cold — not warm
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. club — for golf

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