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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 116 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: pound · wax · band · net · hide · spring · cap · pitcher

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. cap — of ice
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. net — in sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. spring — a coil
  9. spring — of water
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. net — after costs
  18. spring — the season
  19. band — a ring
  20. wax — to grow
  21. net — for catching
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. hide — to keep secret

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