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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: wax · pitch · roll · row · sharp · field · pitcher · bay

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitch — completely
  6. field — farmland
  7. row — a line
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — for sport
  17. roll — a cake
  18. row — to paddle
  19. roll — a list
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. field — a subject
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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