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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: ground · stem · pitch · bowl · roll · wax · season · pass

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. season — of the year
  3. ground — the earth
  4. season — in sport
  5. ground — crushed
  6. pitch — completely
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. roll — a cake
  13. ground — a position
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. roll — a list
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. pitch — a sports field

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