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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 · stick · tube · pass · fall · fan · arm

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. tube — the underground
  9. chest — of your body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. fall — the season
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — a box
  14. bark — to shout
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fall — to drop
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tube — a container
  23. pass — a permit
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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