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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · march · rock · rash · ground · wax · root · row

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. row — to paddle
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. root — of a plant
  7. ground — the earth
  8. rash — hasty
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. ground — a position
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a line
  14. march — the month
  15. rock — music
  16. root — the cause
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rash — a series
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rock — a stone
  23. root — of a word
  24. march — music

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