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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: dip · track · sharp · wax · march · pit · cold · bound

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bound — certain
  3. track — a song
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. march — the month
  6. sharp — clever
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cold — not warm
  9. dip — to sink
  10. wax — to grow
  11. pit — in a race
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. track — a path
  23. bound — obliged
  24. track — to keep track

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