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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: staff · bat · field · stem · race · chair · cue · fan

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. field — farmland
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. staff — employees
  5. cue — a hint
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. staff — a stick
  10. staff — employees
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cue — for pool
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. field — for sport
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. field — a subject
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. cue — a signal

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