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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: clip · wake · pass · court · chest · scale · hide · bark

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. scale — size or range
  6. chest — a box
  7. wake — a trail
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — to shout
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — to cut
  14. court — for sport
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. court — of law
  19. court — of a king
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — in music
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pass — a permit

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