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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: straw · drill · hand · nail · vault · bark · row · tube

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. bark — to shout
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. drill — army training
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. hand — in cards
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. hand — help
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. tube — the underground
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. tube — a container
  23. drill — the tool
  24. vault — a safe

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