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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: bore · chip · chest · nail · snap · hand · cold · jam

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. hand — help
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. chest — a box
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bore — to drill
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chip — to eat
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. hand — in cards
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chest — of your body

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