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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 · mine · club · chair · pop · cold · lie

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. pop — soda
  7. lie — to recline
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. club — for golf
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pop — music
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. snap — to click
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cold — not warm
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pop — to visit

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