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

Word bank: bark · snap · chest · scale · pit · face · track · chair

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — to shout
  5. track — a song
  6. face — to confront
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. pit — in a race
  9. track — a path
  10. pit — a hole
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. track — to keep track
  15. face — part of the head
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chest — a box
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. scale — in music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. face — to point toward
  24. snap — to click

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