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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 116 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: straw · vault · field · last · firm · wind

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wind — moving air
  3. field — for sport
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. firm — a company
  7. field — farmland
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. field — a subject
  10. vault — a safe
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. last — to go on
  14. firm — decided
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. last — finally
  17. last — final
  18. firm — steady

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