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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 · file · straw · trunk · shower · root · game · field

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. file — a line of people
  3. field — a subject
  4. file — a document
  5. shower — rain
  6. game — a match
  7. field — farmland
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. root — of a word
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. file — a tool
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. shower — to wash
  15. game — wild animals
  16. root — the cause
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. root — of a plant
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. field — for sport

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