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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: stem · coach · wax · temple · last · kick · club · land

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. land — to come down
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. last — final
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. last — finally
  15. wax — to grow
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. last — to go on
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. club — for dancing
  23. kick — in football
  24. club — a group

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