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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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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: chair · saw · season · arm · bat · straw · charge · stock

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chair — a leader
  7. charge — in control
  8. stock — goods
  9. charge — a price
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. stock — shares
  16. charge — electricity
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bat — the animal
  24. season — of the year

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