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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. spell — magic
  4. fall — the season
  5. swing — to play on
  6. spell — a short time
  7. rash — hasty
  8. swing — in golf
  9. spell — letters
  10. key — in music
  11. swing — music
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wake — a trail
  14. fall — to drop
  15. vault — a safe
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. rash — a series
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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