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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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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: vault · land · coach · current · pitch · spring · last · trunk

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. land — a country
  3. vault — a safe
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. last — final
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. spring — the season
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. current — happening now
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. land — ground
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. last — to go on
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. pitch — completely
  19. land — to come down
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. spring — of water

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