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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 120 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: pound · craft · mine · vault · straw · sharp · drill · content

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. mine — for digging
  5. content — happy
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. craft — boats
  8. drill — a practice
  9. drill — the tool
  10. content — the amount
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. drill — army training
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. vault — a safe
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. craft — a skill
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pound — a weight
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. straw — dry grass

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