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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bore — to tire
  4. vault — a safe
  5. rule — a law
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. drill — army training
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — from a university
  11. degree — an amount
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. drill — a practice
  15. rule — government
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bore — to drill
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. drill — the tool
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. key — in music
  22. row — a line
  23. key — for a lock
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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