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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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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 · racket · cold · wind · pop · vault · fan · sharp

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. sharp — exactly
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. sharp — clever
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pop — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. vault — a safe
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cold — an illness
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pop — soda
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pop — to visit
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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