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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: spring · pound · ground · march · wax · bear · firm · game

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. firm — a company
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pound — a weight
  12. ground — crushed
  13. firm — decided
  14. ground — a position
  15. march — the month
  16. spring — a coil
  17. game — a match
  18. firm — steady
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bear — the animal
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. pound — for dogs

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