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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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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: pit · row · lash · rest · pitch · wax · last · mug

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. row — a line
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pit — a hole
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. last — final
  14. mug — to rob
  15. last — to go on
  16. wax — to grow
  17. pitch — completely
  18. mug — a face
  19. pit — in a race
  20. last — finally
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mug — a cup
  24. rest — what's left

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