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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 · field · hand · kid · straw · bound · ground · lean

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bound — obliged
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bound — certain
  9. field — farmland
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. lean — to bend
  12. field — a subject
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. ground — the earth
  15. kid — to tease
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bound — tied together
  18. lean — thin
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. vault — a safe
  21. hand — in cards
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kid — child
  24. hand — help

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