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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 116 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fork · vault · chip · mine · spell · snap · degree · key

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. snap — to click
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. spell — letters
  9. chip — to eat
  10. key — for a lock
  11. mine — for digging
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — temperature
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. vault — a safe
  16. spell — a short time
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. spell — magic
  20. chip — for betting
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. mine — belonging to me

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