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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 · jam · stem · game · chair · band · wax · chip

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. band — a ring
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. pitch — completely
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. game — a match
  12. chip — to eat
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. chip — for betting
  16. band — a music group
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. wax — to grow
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — to come from
  24. game — wild animals

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