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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 120 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: temple · stock · pound · calf · clip · perch · chest · bore

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. clip — a video
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. bore — to drill
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. pound — a weight
  14. chest — a box
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bore — to tire
  17. stock — goods
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. clip — for paper
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stock — shares
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. pound — for dogs

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