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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 · bear · firm · mug · wound · cold · pass · band

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mug — a cup
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pass — a permit
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wound — an injury
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. firm — a company
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. firm — steady
  20. mug — to rob
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mug — a face
  23. firm — decided
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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