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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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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: rush · pass · chair · pound · bark · row · chest · net

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bark — to shout
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pass — a permit
  8. chest — a box
  9. row — to paddle
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. net — for catching
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. row — a line

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