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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: wound · stand · stem · chair · chest · scale · race · straw

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stem — to come from
  5. wound — an injury
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. race — a contest
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. scale — size or range
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. scale — in music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. race — humankind
  19. chair — a leader
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. stem — a stem cell

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