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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.

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: plane · march · squash · safe · cabinet · bark · lean · cold

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. march — music
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. march — the month
  5. plane — a tool
  6. squash — the sport
  7. march — the month
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — an illness
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. lean — to bend
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. lean — thin
  16. bark — to shout
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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