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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: mine · tear · racket · pitch · wax · mark · cell · sharp

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pitch — completely
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. cell — in biology
  13. sharp — clever
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. mine — for digging
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mark — a trace
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wax — to grow
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mark — a grade
  24. tear — to rip

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