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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.

Make a worksheet

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: mine · season · wax · shower · chest · march · band · pit

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. season — in sport
  4. band — a ring
  5. march — music
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. march — the month
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chest — of your body
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wax — to grow
  14. band — a music group
  15. shower — rain
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. march — the month
  18. chest — of your body
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mine — for digging
  21. season — of the year
  22. pit — a hole
  23. shower — to wash
  24. chest — a box

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