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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.

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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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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: wave · coach · bark · game · row · rash · season · pop

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. game — a match
  3. pop — soda
  4. season — of the year
  5. bark — to shout
  6. season — in sport
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rash — hasty
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. pop — music
  13. pop — to visit
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bark — of a tree

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