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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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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: rule · drill · temple · root · kid · lash · bark · march

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kid — child
  4. drill — army training
  5. root — the cause
  6. root — of a plant
  7. rule — government
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. march — music
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. march — the month
  13. root — of a word
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. drill — a practice
  18. rule — a law
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kid — to tease
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. rule — to rule out
  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