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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: wax · root · bear · game · pitch · chest · degree · rash

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wax — to grow
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. chest — a box
  5. rash — a series
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. root — of a plant
  9. root — the cause
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rash — hasty
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. degree — an amount
  19. pitch — completely
  20. game — a match
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. root — of a word

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