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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
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 · degree · wax · game · row · club · drill · straw

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. drill — army training
  3. row — to paddle
  4. club — a group
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. game — wild animals
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. drill — a practice
  9. game — a match
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. drill — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. wax — to grow
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. degree — temperature
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. row — a line
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. club — for golf

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