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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 116 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: lash · kid · coach · clip · last · craft · deal · present

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. last — to go on
  4. present — there
  5. present — the time now
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. last — final
  9. present — a gift
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. last — finally
  12. kid — child
  13. deal — to handle
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — a skill
  17. clip — to cut
  18. clip — a video
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. craft — boats
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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