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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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468
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: chest · pitch · wax · pop · ground · kid · chip · lean

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. ground — a position
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. ground — the earth
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chip — to eat
  13. pitch — completely
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. pop — soda
  16. chest — of your body
  17. ground — crushed
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lean — thin
  20. lean — to bend
  21. chest — a box
  22. pop — music
  23. chip — for betting
  24. pop — to visit

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