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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 120 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: rush · march · bark · wax · wind · pit · bear · season

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. season — in sport
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bark — to shout
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. march — music
  14. rush — hurry
  15. season — of the year
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pit — in a race
  22. march — the month
  23. bear — the animal
  24. pit — a hole

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