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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: tube · rash · mouse · roll · club · cell · bat · race

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. club — for dancing
  4. race — the arms race
  5. club — for golf
  6. roll — a cake
  7. rash — hasty
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. tube — a container
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. roll — a list
  21. club — a group
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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