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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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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: snap · cell · fall · field · ruler · chest · bound · file

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fall — to drop
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bound — tied together
  8. chest — a box
  9. cell — in biology
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. fall — the season
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. field — farmland
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bound — certain
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bound — obliged
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cell — a phone
  24. snap — to click

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