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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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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: fall · cell · row · cabinet · file · mouse · straw · coach

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — to paddle
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a line of people
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. fall — to drop
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. row — a line
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cell — a phone
  15. file — a document
  16. fall — the season
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cell — in biology
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. file — a tool

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