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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 116 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: rush · vault · nail · mark · tear · game · hand · shower

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. game — a match
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. mark — a grade
  6. tear — from crying
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. hand — help
  9. vault — a safe
  10. shower — to wash
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. rush — hurry
  13. mark — a trace
  14. tear — to rip
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. shower — rain
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. game — wild animals

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