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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: key · wax · pit · row · pitcher · clip · pitch · prune

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — for paper
  12. key — the most important part
  13. pit — a hole
  14. key — in music
  15. prune — to trim
  16. row — a line
  17. key — for a lock
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitch — completely
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. clip — a video
  24. prune — the fruit

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