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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: stem · foot · dip · kick · key · wax · clip · bat

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. clip — a video
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. foot — a measure
  9. dip — to sink
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bat — the animal
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. key — the most important part
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. key — in music
  24. clip — for paper

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