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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: pitch · mug · lean · wax · bat · content · staff · pop

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mug — to rob
  4. staff — employees
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. content — the amount
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wax — to grow
  10. lean — thin
  11. bat — the animal
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mug — a cup
  18. content — happy
  19. lean — to bend
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pop — music

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