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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.

Words on the sheet
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: pitch · content · wax · root · chair · pitcher · net · bark

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. root — of a word
  3. net — in sport
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. root — of a plant
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. net — after costs
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — happy
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. content — the amount
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. chair — a leader
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. net — for catching
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. root — the cause
  24. pitch — completely

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