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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: file · coach · plane · kid · nail · jam · clip · present

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. plane — a tool
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. clip — a video
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — child
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. clip — to cut
  15. kid — to tease
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. file — a document

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