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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mark — a trace
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. wax — to grow
  8. sharp — clever
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. foot — a measure
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. net — for catching
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. mark — a grade
  18. net — in sport
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. net — after costs
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — for sculpting
  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