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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 116 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — a trail
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. pitch — completely
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. field — farmland
  18. court — of a king
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wax — to grow
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — a division
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wax — for sculpting

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