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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 · chest · cabinet

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

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

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