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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: temple · ground · wax · suit · bark · race · straw · rule

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rule — a law
  3. wax — to grow
  4. ground — crushed
  5. suit — clothes
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rule — government
  8. ground — a position
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. race — a contest
  12. suit — in cards
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bark — to shout
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. suit — to fit

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