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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. rule — government
  3. spring — the season
  4. rule — a law
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. key — for a lock
  7. spring — of water
  8. vault — a safe
  9. key — in music
  10. season — in sport
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. drill — a practice
  13. season — of the year
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. spring — a coil
  18. vault — in gymnastics

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