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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: file · mine · club · arm · nail · straw · chest · saw

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chest — a box
  4. file — a tool
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. club — a group
  8. chest — of your body
  9. club — for golf
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. file — a line of people
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. file — a document
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. club — for dancing
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. arm — part of the body

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