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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: rush · capital · lie · file · mine · wax · pass · pitch

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. capital — money
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rush — hurry
  8. lie — to recline
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. mine — for digging
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. capital — a city
  20. pitch — completely
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. file — a tool

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