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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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468
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: ball · cell · hand · cabinet · straw · press · wave · file

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. file — a document
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. press — a publisher
  5. file — a tool
  6. hand — help
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. hand — in cards
  10. ball — a great time
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. ball — a dance
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. press — to push
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. file — a line of people

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