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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: pop · tear · band · last · bound · file · snap · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pop — to visit
  3. last — finally
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pop — music
  6. bound — obliged
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. last — to go on
  10. snap — to click
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. chest — a box
  14. last — final
  15. tear — from crying
  16. band — a ring
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bound — certain
  19. pop — soda
  20. bound — tied together
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. band — a music group
  23. tear — to rip
  24. chest — of your body

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