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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: ball · mine · file · bound · ruler · last · lie · chest

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bound — certain
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ball — a dance
  10. chest — a box
  11. last — final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. file — a document
  14. mine — for digging
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. file — a line of people
  21. last — to go on
  22. ball — a great time
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. ruler — for measuring

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