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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. key — the most important part
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. sharp — clever
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. capital — a city
  8. pit — a hole
  9. dip — to sink
  10. row — a line
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. key — in music
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pit — in a race
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. wax — to grow
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. pitch — completely
  23. capital — money
  24. key — for a lock

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