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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 · season · swing · file · last · lean · land · straw

  1. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — an arched ceiling
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. swing — in golf
  4. file — a tool
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. season — of the year
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. land — ground
  11. land — to come down
  12. file — a line of people
  13. vault — a safe
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. lean — to bend
  17. last — final
  18. land — a country
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. lean — thin
  21. swing — to play on
  22. file — a document
  23. season — in sport
  24. swing — music

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