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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: stem · perch · face · band · stock · root · kick · fork

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. stock — shares
  4. root — of a plant
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. kick — in football
  8. band — a ring
  9. perch — the fish
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stock — goods
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. face — part of the head
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. root — of a word
  22. fork — in a road
  23. band — a music group
  24. root — the cause

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