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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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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: present · scale · board · bark · cold · firm · chair · wind

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. firm — a company
  8. firm — decided
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. firm — steady
  11. wind — moving air
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. board — to get on
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chair — a leader
  17. board — a committee
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bark — to shout
  21. present — there
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — the Cold War

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