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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: cap · chest · jam · suit · file · court · temple · snap

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cap — a lid
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. cap — of ice
  6. court — for sport
  7. suit — to fit
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. suit — clothes
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cap — a hat
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. snap — to click
  18. court — of a king
  19. suit — in cards
  20. chest — of your body
  21. court — of law
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. file — a document
  24. jam — in traffic

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