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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: chair · wake · pitcher · staff · bound · rash · bear · cue

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. staff — employees
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. cue — a signal
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bound — certain
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. cue — for pool
  20. rash — a series
  21. bound — tied together
  22. cue — a hint
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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