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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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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: rash · land · temple · bowl · trunk · rush · clip · drill

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. clip — for paper
  4. land — a country
  5. drill — army training
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. land — to come down
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. drill — the tool
  10. clip — to cut
  11. drill — a practice
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. rash — a series
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. rash — hasty
  21. land — ground
  22. rush — hurry
  23. clip — a video
  24. bowl — to roll

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