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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: row · chest · club · clip · stem · chair · cue · firm

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. club — a group
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. club — for golf
  6. cue — a signal
  7. row — a line
  8. firm — a company
  9. firm — decided
  10. firm — steady
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. clip — a video
  13. cue — a hint
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cue — for pool
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chair — a leader
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. clip — for paper
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. club — for dancing

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