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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: wind · bark · temple · ruler · last · shower

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. last — final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bark — to shout
  9. shower — rain
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. last — finally
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. shower — to wash
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. last — to go on
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ruler — a monarch

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