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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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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: drill · key · cell · land · chair · mine · sharp · vault

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. mine — for digging
  4. land — to come down
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. key — the most important part
  10. cell — a phone
  11. land — a country
  12. key — in music
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. vault — a safe
  17. land — ground
  18. key — for a lock
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. chair — a leader
  21. sharp — clever
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. chair — a professorship

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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