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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.

Words on the sheet
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: spring · shower · wax · race · pitch · bank · stand · scale

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. race — a contest
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — to bear
  7. spring — of water
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wax — to grow
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. scale — in music
  12. bank — for money
  13. shower — rain
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bank — of a river
  19. race — humankind
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pitch — completely
  22. spring — the season
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bank — for money

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