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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.

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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: fan · cold · nail · wax · band · season · court · pitch

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. court — of a king
  3. band — a ring
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. court — of law
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. season — of the year
  13. season — in sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wax — to grow
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pitch — completely
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. band — a music group
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. nail — for a hammer

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