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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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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: cabinet · plane · cell · pop · drill · wound · bound · capital

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bound — certain
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. plane — a tool
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. pop — music
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. bound — obliged
  11. pop — soda
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. capital — a city
  14. drill — a practice
  15. bound — tied together
  16. drill — the tool
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. capital — money
  21. pop — to visit
  22. drill — army training
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cell — in biology

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