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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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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: cabinet · bat · wax · rock · content · row · pitch · toast

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. content — happy
  4. rock — a stone
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. row — a line
  9. toast — bread
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rock — music
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — completely
  24. content — the amount

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