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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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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wax — to grow
  3. capital — money
  4. dip — to sink
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. kid — child
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. chest — a box
  12. capital — a city
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. cue — a hint
  15. pitch — completely
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bulb — for light
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — of your 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