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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: game · stem · stick · wind · season · arm · straw · rule

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. game — a match
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rule — government
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stem — to come from
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rule — a law
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in sport

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