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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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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: arm · wax · wind · perch · club · stem · kick · row

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. perch — the fish
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. club — a group
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. row — to paddle
  17. club — for dancing
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. row — a line
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. kick — in football
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wind — moving air
  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