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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: swing · saw · pop · arm · lash · coach · last · land

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. swing — to play on
  4. last — final
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. swing — in golf
  8. land — a country
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. saw — the tool
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. saw — the tool
  16. land — to come down
  17. pop — soda
  18. last — to go on
  19. pop — to visit
  20. last — finally
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. land — ground
  24. swing — music

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