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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: pitch · wax · chair · track · wind · prune · lie · march

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. track — to keep track
  3. prune — to trim
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pitch — completely
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. track — a song
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wax — to grow
  11. track — a path
  12. prune — to trim
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. wind — moving air
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — a sports field

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