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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: wax · row · track · pop · pitch · season · spring · degree

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pop — music
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pop — to visit
  5. degree — temperature
  6. season — in sport
  7. row — to paddle
  8. track — to keep track
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spring — of water
  11. track — a path
  12. track — a song
  13. row — a line
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wax — to grow
  17. spring — the season
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. spring — a coil
  21. pop — soda
  22. pitch — completely
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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