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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
468
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: fan · bark · cabinet · bound · pitcher · drill · cold · land

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. land — to come down
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bark — to shout
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. land — ground
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. cold — not warm
  16. land — a country
  17. bound — certain
  18. drill — the tool
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. drill — a practice
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bound — tied together

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