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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: court · chest · jam · coach · nail · pound · fall · lie

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  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. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. chest — a box
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. pound — a weight
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. court — for sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fall — to drop
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — to recline
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  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