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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: nail · snap · court · jam · chair · file · wound · fall

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — of law
  8. wound — an injury
  9. file — a line of people
  10. snap — to click
  11. wound — an injury
  12. file — a document
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a leader
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. court — for sport
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. fall — the season

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