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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: nail · jam · pit · file · last · chair · field · sharp

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — in a race
  3. file — a line of people
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. field — a subject
  7. sharp — clever
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. last — finally
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. field — farmland
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. field — for sport
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. file — a document
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. file — a tool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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