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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. track — a path
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a ring
  5. track — a song
  6. band — a music group
  7. track — to keep track
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. march — the month
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — completely
  14. degree — an amount
  15. degree — from a university
  16. cap — a lid
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a hat
  20. march — music
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. degree — temperature
  24. pitch — a sports field

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