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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: nail · chair · vault · rock · capital · shower · bass · sharp

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. shower — to wash
  3. vault — in gymnastics
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. rock — a stone
  6. chair — a leader
  7. rock — music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. capital — a city
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. capital — money
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bass — low music
  22. shower — rain
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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