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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: pitch · fan · spring · march · mug · wax · arm · scale

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. march — the month
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. march — music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. march — the month
  11. scale — in music
  12. mug — a cup
  13. scale — size or range
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. mug — a face
  21. mug — to rob
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitch — completely
  24. arm — part of the body

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