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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: perch · racket · temple · bore · stand · clip · field · band

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. field — farmland
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. band — a music group
  5. bore — to tire
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. band — a ring
  9. clip — to cut
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. field — for sport
  13. clip — for paper
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. field — a subject
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. clip — a video
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. band — a rubber band

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