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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: temple · bark · rash · bat · object · wound · row · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wound — an injury
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. rash — a series
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. row — a line
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. lean — thin
  13. object — an aim
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. rash — hasty
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — to protest
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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