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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: straw · pop · stem · land · arm · race · roll · wound

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. race — humankind
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. land — a country
  8. roll — a list
  9. stem — to come from
  10. race — the arms race
  11. roll — a cake
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. land — ground
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pop — soda
  16. pop — to visit
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. race — a contest
  22. pop — music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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