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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: fall · pitcher · march · wax · spring · pop · mate · foot

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. fall — the season
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pop — soda
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spring — of water
  14. pop — music
  15. mate — to breed
  16. mate — a partner
  17. fall — to drop
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. spring — the season
  23. march — the month
  24. mate — a friend

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