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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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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 · file · staff · vault · hand · track · land · straw

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. staff — employees
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. file — a document
  6. file — a tool
  7. land — ground
  8. file — a line of people
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. staff — a stick
  12. hand — in cards
  13. vault — a safe
  14. track — a song
  15. season — in sport
  16. land — a country
  17. hand — help
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. season — of the year
  20. staff — employees
  21. track — to keep track
  22. land — to come down
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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