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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: arm · chair · band · fall · stem · race · can · straw

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. fall — the season
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. band — a music group
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. stem — to come from
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. fall — to drop
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. race — humankind
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. band — a ring
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. race — a contest
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. can — a tin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. race — the arms race

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