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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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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: bound · ground · chest · kid · ruler · fall · bark · lie

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lie — to recline
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bound — obliged
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chest — a box
  8. fall — the season
  9. kid — child
  10. bound — certain
  11. bark — to shout
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bound — tied together
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. fall — to drop
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. kid — to tease

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