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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 · game · rash · drill · pop · snap · wound · bark

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. drill — army training
  3. rash — hasty
  4. game — a match
  5. drill — the tool
  6. snap — to click
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wound — an injury
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. drill — a practice
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. pop — to visit
  18. rash — a series
  19. pop — music
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. rash — on the skin
  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