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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: chest · bat · suit · mouse · race · stem · stick · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. suit — to fit
  3. club — for dancing
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. race — the arms race
  17. suit — in cards
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. club — a group
  21. stem — to come from
  22. suit — clothes
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. stem — a stem cell

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