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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: bark · safe · cold · chair · game · face · jam · squash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chair — a leader
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. squash — to crush
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cold — not warm
  8. game — a match
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. face — to confront
  18. squash — the sport
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. face — part of the head
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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