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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 116 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: ground · cue · bark · wake · pitcher · firm · mark · band

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. band — a music group
  3. firm — a company
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cue — a signal
  9. mark — a trace
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wake — a trail
  13. ground — crushed
  14. firm — decided
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cue — a hint
  18. cue — for pool
  19. ground — a position
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a ring
  24. firm — steady

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