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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: chest · rush · net · fine · lie · row · track · bound

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. net — in sport
  3. bound — certain
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bound — obliged
  7. fine — high quality
  8. fine — all right
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. row — to paddle
  12. chest — a box
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. track — to keep track
  15. chest — of your body
  16. net — for catching
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — a line
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. net — after costs
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. track — a path
  23. track — a song
  24. lie — to recline

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