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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.

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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 · cold · plane · bound · press · net · date · file

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bound — certain
  5. file — a tool
  6. press — a publisher
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. date — the fruit
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. press — to push
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bound — tied together
  13. press — newspapers
  14. file — a document
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. net — in sport
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. file — a line of people
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. net — for catching
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bound — obliged

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