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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: racket · content · wax · mine · pitch · bay · spring · rash

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. content — the amount
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wax — to grow
  17. spring — of water
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. rash — a series
  24. spring — the season

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