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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: chest · plane · lean · snap · field · wake · mine · ruler

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. field — farmland
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. snap — to click
  7. chest — a box
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. chest — of your body
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. field — for sport
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wake — a trail
  22. plane — a tool
  23. field — a subject
  24. lean — to bend

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