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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: drill · nail · court · jam · chest · fall · rush · branch

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. drill — army training
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fall — to drop
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. drill — a practice
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chest — of your body
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. court — of law
  15. rush — hurry
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. branch — a division
  18. chest — of your body
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. chest — a box
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. branch — of a tree

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