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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: swing · race · club · calf · bat · perch · object · chair

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. chair — a leader
  3. race — humankind
  4. object — to protest
  5. club — for golf
  6. object — an aim
  7. swing — music
  8. club — for dancing
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. swing — in golf
  15. object — a thing
  16. club — a group
  17. bat — the animal
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. swing — to play on
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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