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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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
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: coach · straw · swing · rash · arm · ball · file · wound

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. swing — in golf
  3. ball — a dance
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. swing — to play on
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rash — a series
  8. ball — a great time
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. file — a line of people
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. file — a tool
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. file — a document
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. arm — a part of something

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