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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · straw · vault · rush · roll · stick · hand · file

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. field — for sport
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. file — a tool
  6. roll — a list
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. vault — a safe
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. hand — help
  12. file — a line of people
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. hand — in cards
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. rush — hurry
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. file — a document

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