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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: chair · date · net · cap · club · race · rush · nail

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. club — for golf
  3. chair — a leader
  4. date — the fruit
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. cap — a lid
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. rush — hurry
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. club — for dancing
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. net — after costs
  15. cap — a hat
  16. net — in sport
  17. cap — of ice
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. net — for catching
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. club — a group

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