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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: chest · nail · spring · kid · capital · stick · prune · jam

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. chest — of your body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. capital — a city
  5. chest — a box
  6. spring — the season
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. prune — to trim
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. chest — of your body
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. spring — of water
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. capital — money
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. kid — child
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spring — a coil

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