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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: firm · cold · chair · squash · mark · band · scale · bark

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. mark — a trace
  2. cold — an illness
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. band — a ring
  7. firm — a company
  8. cold — not warm
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. band — a music group
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. squash — to crush
  14. firm — decided
  15. squash — the sport
  16. mark — a grade
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bark — to shout
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — in music
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. chair — a leader
  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