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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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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: pitcher · bear · wax · stand · track · game · wound · season

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bear — the animal
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. track — a song
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. game — a match
  15. season — in sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. season — of the year
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a path
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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