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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: board · pitch · pitcher · deal · wax · cell · rush · hand

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. board — to get on
  7. wax — to grow
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. hand — in cards
  10. rush — hurry
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. deal — to handle
  14. hand — help
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cell — a phone
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. cell — in biology
  23. board — a committee
  24. wax — for sculpting

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