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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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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: chest · kick · snap · land · stem · pitch · wax · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitch — completely
  4. chest — of your body
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. snap — to click
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. kick — in football
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. land — ground
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. chest — a box
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. pit — in a race
  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