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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: chip · coach · straw · arm · bay · kid · last · band

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. kid — to tease
  7. band — a music group
  8. chip — for betting
  9. chip — to eat
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. band — a ring
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — finally
  14. last — final
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kid — child
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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