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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 · calf · stem · cabinet · bat · band · temple · clip

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. clip — for paper
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. band — a ring
  11. bat — the animal
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — a video
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. perch — the fish
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. perch — for a bird

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