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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · swing · saw · coach · kid · arm · clip · sharp

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hand — help
  3. sharp — clever
  4. swing — in golf
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. kid — to tease
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. swing — music
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. saw — the tool
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. clip — to cut
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. coach — a trainer

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