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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: cold · arm · ground · stem · track · cabinet · chair · jam

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chair — a leader
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. ground — the earth
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. ground — a position
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. track — a path
  20. ground — crushed
  21. track — a song
  22. stem — to come from
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. track — to keep track

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