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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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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: fall · kick · vault · race · season · file

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. file — a tool
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. kick — in football
  5. file — a document
  6. vault — a safe
  7. season — in sport
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. file — a line of people
  10. fall — to drop
  11. race — humankind
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. race — a contest
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. race — the arms race

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