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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: drill · sharp · key · roll · shower · lie · bat · nail

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. shower — rain
  5. key — in music
  6. lie — to recline
  7. sharp — clever
  8. bat — the animal
  9. shower — to wash
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. drill — army training
  12. drill — a practice
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. roll — a cake
  15. drill — the tool
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. nail — on a finger

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