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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: temple · bark · rash · bowl · drill · object · nail · wax

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. object — a thing
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rash — hasty
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wax — to grow
  12. object — an aim
  13. rash — a series
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. drill — the tool
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bark — to shout
  19. object — to protest
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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