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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: mouse · march · bark · rest · bat · stem · date · temple

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. march — the month
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. date — the fruit
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. rest — a break
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bark — to shout
  15. stem — to come from
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bat — in an idiom

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