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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: club · fork · roll · rule · clip · content · vault · key

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. rule — a law
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rule — government
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. clip — for paper
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. key — in music
  15. roll — a list
  16. key — for a lock
  17. clip — a video
  18. key — the most important part
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. clip — to cut
  21. content — the amount
  22. roll — a cake
  23. content — happy
  24. fork — a garden tool

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