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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: club · clip · wax · root · staff · perch · stock · temple

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. staff — employees
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. root — of a plant
  9. clip — for paper
  10. club — a group
  11. clip — to cut
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. root — the cause
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. staff — employees
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. root — of a word
  21. club — for golf
  22. staff — a stick
  23. stock — goods
  24. clip — a video

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