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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 116 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: spell · wax · present · ground · content · pitch · stand · wind

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. ground — a position
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stand — to bear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pitch — completely
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ground — the earth
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. present — there
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — happy
  21. present — the time now
  22. wax — to grow
  23. spell — letters
  24. present — a gift

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