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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
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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: bark · bear · ruler · cold · rush · wake · sharp · temple

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. rush — hurry
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. sharp — clever
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bark — to shout
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

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