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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: temple · cue · chest · stem · stock · chair · branch · perch

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. cue — for pool
  5. cue — a signal
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. perch — the fish
  12. stock — goods
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chest — of your body
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — a division
  19. cue — a hint
  20. stock — shares
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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