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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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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: key · toast · vault · file · kick · chest · spell · clip

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. file — a line of people
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. file — a document
  6. clip — a video
  7. kick — in football
  8. chest — of your body
  9. spell — a short time
  10. key — the most important part
  11. clip — for paper
  12. file — a tool
  13. key — for a lock
  14. chest — a box
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. clip — to cut
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. spell — letters
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. toast — bread
  23. key — in music
  24. spell — magic

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