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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: chest · band · fine · bay · pass · bark · spell · sharp

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fine — all right
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. chest — a box
  10. spell — letters
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. spell — magic
  15. fine — high quality
  16. spell — a short time
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pass — a permit
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. band — a ring
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. band — a music group

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