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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · cue · bass · wave · cold · row · pop · coach

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. cue — a signal
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. pop — soda
  5. cold — not warm
  6. land — a country
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cue — a hint
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. land — to come down
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pop — music
  15. row — a line
  16. bass — the fish
  17. land — ground
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cue — for pool
  21. pop — to visit
  22. bass — low music
  23. cold — an illness
  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