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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.

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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: bowl · mate · drill · bark · rash · race · temple · degree

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. degree — an amount
  5. drill — army training
  6. race — a contest
  7. mate — a partner
  8. degree — temperature
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. degree — from a university
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a friend
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bark — to shout
  20. drill — a practice
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. drill — the tool

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