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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 · can · cold · pitch · degree · roll · bound · track

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. can — to be able to
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. track — a song
  7. bound — obliged
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bound — certain
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cold — an illness
  12. degree — an amount
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. roll — a cake
  18. track — to keep track
  19. degree — temperature
  20. can — a tin
  21. roll — a list
  22. track — a path
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. can — a tin

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