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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: ground · drill · march · vault · cell · bound · shower · sharp

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — a practice
  4. march — the month
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — in biology
  12. shower — to wash
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. march — the month
  15. drill — army training
  16. cell — a phone
  17. ground — crushed
  18. shower — rain
  19. march — music
  20. ground — a position
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. bound — tied together
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. bound — certain

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