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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: rush · hand · bark · game · field · bulb · temple · rest

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. game — wild animals
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hand — help
  8. bulb — for light
  9. field — farmland
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. game — a match
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bark — to shout
  15. hand — in cards
  16. field — a subject
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. field — for sport
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. rest — a break

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