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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: wax · wound · chest · court · club · jam · swing · nail

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — for golf
  5. court — for sport
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chest — of your body
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. club — a group
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — of law
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. swing — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wax — to grow
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — a box
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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