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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: cabinet · file · shower · pitch · craft · mouse · straw · wound

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. shower — to wash
  6. craft — a skill
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. file — a document
  10. shower — rain
  11. wound — an injury
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. craft — boats
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. file — a tool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pitch — completely

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