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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: coach · lean · vault · straw · cold · pitch · track · fork

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. track — a song
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. track — a path
  5. lean — to bend
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. lean — thin
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pitch — completely
  12. vault — a safe
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fork — in a road
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — to keep track
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cold — the Cold War

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