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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: bark · cell · cabinet · cold · pop · board · bound · plane

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bark — to shout
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. pop — to visit
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. board — to get on
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. board — a committee
  15. pop — soda
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bound — certain
  19. pop — music
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. cold — the Cold War

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