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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: wax · cold · kick · season · pitch · pitcher · spring · leaves

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. spring — of water
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. cold — not warm
  14. season — of the year
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cold — an illness
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — completely
  19. season — in sport
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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