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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: chest · stem · row · rule · cabinet · straw · rock · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stem — to come from
  3. rule — a law
  4. rule — government
  5. chest — a box
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. season — in sport
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. row — a line
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. row — to paddle
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rock — music
  18. season — of the year
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. chest — of your body

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