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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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Word bank
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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 · spell · chest · drill · wind · temple · clip · cabinet

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. spell — letters
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. wind — moving air
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — moving air
  12. spell — a short time
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. key — in music
  17. drill — army training
  18. spell — magic
  19. clip — a video
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. chest — of your body
  24. temple — a place of worship

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