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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: fall · lie · current · bark · chest · bound · net · snap

  1. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. lie — to recline
  3. fall — the season
  4. current — happening now
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. snap — to click
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bound — certain
  10. bound — tied together
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. net — after costs
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bark — to shout
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chest — of your body
  18. net — in sport
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. net — for catching
  22. chest — a box
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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