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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: pitch · march · spring · degree · leaves · content · wax · rock

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. rock — music
  3. pitch — completely
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. march — music
  6. content — the amount
  7. spring — of water
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. march — the month
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. wax — to grow
  17. rock — a stone
  18. degree — temperature
  19. degree — from a university
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. content — happy
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. spring — a coil

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