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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: arm · chair · ruler · band · straw · stock · patient · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. band — a ring
  3. stock — shares
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. stock — goods
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. band — a music group
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. race — humankind
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. race — a contest
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. chair — a leader
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. patient — a sick person

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