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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 120 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: pitch · snap · face · clip · deal · hand · fork · wax

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. face — to point toward
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. snap — to click
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. deal — to handle
  15. hand — help
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. clip — a video
  19. face — to confront
  20. pitch — completely
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. clip — to cut
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  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