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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: rule · fall · cell · plane · lie · field · rush · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rule — a law
  5. cell — a phone
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. field — farmland
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. rule — government
  14. cell — in biology
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. field — for sport
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. field — a subject
  24. plane — a tool

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