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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 120 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: bat · stem · patient · cell · chair · rest · band · arm

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. chair — a leader
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. band — a music group
  10. rest — a break
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bat — the animal
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cell — in biology

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