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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · content · track · wind · band · pitch · wax · fan

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — moving air
  6. band — a music group
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — an injury
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. track — a path
  19. wind — moving air
  20. band — a ring
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. track — a song

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