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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 120 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 · bear · suit · court · cold · wax · spring · season

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. suit — clothes
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. spring — the season
  5. season — in sport
  6. suit — in cards
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. court — of law
  12. wax — to grow
  13. suit — to fit
  14. court — for sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bear — the animal
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. season — of the year
  22. cold — not warm
  23. court — of a king
  24. spring — of water

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