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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 120 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: plane · bark · file · bound · game · mine · cap · foot

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. foot — a measure
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bound — tied together
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — a lid
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. game — a match
  10. bound — obliged
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bound — certain
  16. cap — of ice
  17. file — a tool
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. game — wild animals
  22. file — a document
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bark — of a tree

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