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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 116 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: kick · straw · vault · file · bowl · last

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. vault — a safe
  7. last — to go on
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. last — finally
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. last — final
  18. file — a line of people

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