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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: bore · game · temple · shower · key · bark · sharp · row

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. row — a line
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. game — wild animals
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. key — for a lock
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. bark — to shout
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. bore — to tire
  16. shower — to wash
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. game — a match
  19. shower — rain
  20. sharp — clever
  21. key — in music
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bore — to drill
  24. temple — a place of worship

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