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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: shower · rule · nail · land · straw · vault · sharp · net

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. land — ground
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. land — a country
  5. net — in sport
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. rule — government
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. vault — a safe
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. shower — rain
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. shower — to wash
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rule — a law
  19. land — to come down
  20. net — after costs
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. net — for catching
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. sharp — exactly

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