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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: row · temple · bark · ground · rush · spell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. row — a line
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — a position
  10. bark — to shout
  11. spell — letters
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. row — to paddle
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. ground — crushed
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. spell — magic

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