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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. bound — certain
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. scale — in music
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bound — tied together
  10. branch — a division
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bat — the animal
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bound — obliged
  24. chest — a box

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