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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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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 · season · shower · pop · bark · wax · mate · saw

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. wax — to grow
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mate — a partner
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. shower — rain
  12. pop — soda
  13. mate — a friend
  14. season — of the year
  15. saw — the tool
  16. season — in sport
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. saw — the tool
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pitch — completely
  22. mate — to breed
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wax — for sculpting

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