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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: straw · mouse · bat · fine · file · wound

  1. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. file — a document
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. wound — an injury
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. bat — the animal

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