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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.

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: content · clip · wax · drill · bulb · hand · pitch · pit

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bulb — for light
  3. content — happy
  4. pit — in a race
  5. drill — the tool
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bulb — for light
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. wax — to grow
  13. clip — for paper
  14. pitch — completely
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. drill — a practice
  18. pit — a hole
  19. clip — a video
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. drill — army training

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