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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: chest · bark · bound · pass · temple · bore

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. bound — certain
  3. bore — to drill
  4. bound — obliged
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pass — a permit
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bound — tied together
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — a box
  14. bore — to tire
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. temple — side of the head

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