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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: wake · straw · lie · last · suit · cold · season · vault

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. suit — in cards
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. last — final
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. season — in sport
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. suit — clothes
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lie — to recline
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. last — finally
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. vault — a safe
  20. suit — to fit
  21. last — to go on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wake — a trail

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