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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: straw · vault · rock · bear · sharp · craft · cold · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. vault — a safe
  4. cold — not warm
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. game — wild animals
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rock — music
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. craft — boats
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. craft — a skill
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bear — the animal
  21. rock — a stone
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. rock — to move gently

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