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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: bat · lash · field · land · stem · straw · chip · chair

  1. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. chair — a leader
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. field — farmland
  7. land — to come down
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. field — for sport
  15. land — ground
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chip — to eat
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. field — a subject
  21. chip — for betting
  22. land — a country
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. straw — a straw man

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