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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: wax · band · cold · pitch · lean · firm · pop · club

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. band — a ring
  3. firm — a company
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. cold — an illness
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. club — for golf
  11. pop — soda
  12. lean — thin
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. wax — to grow
  16. club — a group
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. band — a music group
  20. firm — steady
  21. pop — to visit
  22. pitch — completely
  23. lean — to bend
  24. pop — music

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