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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: season · last · bark · chip · coach · face · race · vault

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — humankind
  3. face — part of the head
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. face — to point toward
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. vault — a safe
  14. face — to confront
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. bark — to shout
  17. chip — for betting
  18. race — the arms race
  19. last — finally
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chip — to eat
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. season — to add flavour

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