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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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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: fall · rule · drill · stem · deal · bound · chest · face

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stem — to come from
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — part of the head
  7. drill — the tool
  8. rule — a law
  9. bound — tied together
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. drill — army training
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rule — government
  20. bound — certain
  21. deal — to handle
  22. drill — a practice
  23. face — to confront
  24. chest — a box

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