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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: bark · wake · nail · bear · temple · cell · rush · wind

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. bear — the animal
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. cell — a phone
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bear — the animal
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wake — before a funeral

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