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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rule · snap · key · pop · game · staff · spring · chest

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. spring — a coil
  3. snap — to click
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. pop — music
  10. spring — of water
  11. key — the most important part
  12. rule — a law
  13. key — for a lock
  14. staff — a stick
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — government
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. staff — employees
  23. spring — the season
  24. key — in music

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