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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · chest · pitch · saw · pass · bound · straw · bark

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — obliged
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. bark — to shout
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pitch — completely

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