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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: season · ground · roll · tube · fork · foot · wax · march

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. tube — a container
  3. roll — a cake
  4. season — in sport
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. march — the month
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. march — music
  11. roll — a list
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. ground — crushed
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ground — a position
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. march — the month
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tube — the underground
  23. season — of the year
  24. ground — the earth

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