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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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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: swing · racket · land · cap · vault · kick · last · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. land — ground
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cap — a hat
  5. land — to come down
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. land — a country
  12. last — final
  13. swing — music
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. last — to go on
  16. cap — of ice
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. cap — a lid
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. last — finally
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  24. kick — in football

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