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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: content · wax · pitch · ground · mate · game · club · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. mate — a friend
  3. ground — crushed
  4. can — to be able to
  5. game — a match
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. content — happy
  11. club — a group
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitch — completely
  16. club — for dancing
  17. can — a tin
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. ground — a position
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. game — wild animals
  23. club — for golf
  24. wax — to grow

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