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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: cold · stock · wax · mate · cap · pitch · present · bound

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. stock — shares
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. wax — to grow
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — a partner
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. present — there
  14. mate — to breed
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bound — obliged
  17. pitch — completely
  18. cap — of ice
  19. present — the time now
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. present — a gift

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