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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 · straw · board · cold · stem · chip · wind · stand

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. board — to get on
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. chip — to eat
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — for betting
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wind — moving air
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. arm — a part of something

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