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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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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: deal · wave · degree · row · coach · lie · bass · straw

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. lie — to recline
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. degree — an amount
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bass — low music
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. deal — to handle
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. degree — from a university
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. degree — temperature
  21. row — to paddle
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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