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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: march · stem · lean · key · club · temple · roll · spring

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. lean — thin
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. roll — a cake
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. key — the most important part
  8. club — a group
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. stem — to come from
  13. roll — a list
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. march — music
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. march — the month
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. club — for dancing
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. spring — of water
  23. march — the month
  24. lean — to bend

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