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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: arm · straw · cell · rash · dip · file · fine · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. fine — all right
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. file — a document
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rash — a series
  21. rock — a stone
  22. fine — high quality
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. fine — a penalty

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