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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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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 · track · land · chest · snap · bound · leaves · tube

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. land — to come down
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. land — ground
  6. snap — to click
  7. chest — a box
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. track — to keep track
  10. plane — a tool
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. track — a song
  13. bound — obliged
  14. track — a path
  15. bound — tied together
  16. land — a country
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. tube — a container
  19. chest — of your body
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bound — certain
  22. tube — the underground
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. tube — in a tire

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