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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: saw · mate · pound · rush · wax · bark · row · coach

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wax — to grow
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. row — a line
  10. rush — hurry
  11. row — to paddle
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — to breed
  15. bark — to shout
  16. pound — a weight
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. mate — a friend

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