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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: stand · chair · race · row · straw · clip

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. clip — a video
  6. row — to paddle
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. race — the arms race
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. clip — for paper
  14. row — a line
  15. stand — to bear
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stand — on your feet

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