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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: fork · wax · pitch · perch · hand · scale · root · jam

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fork — in a road
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — the cause
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — in music
  18. hand — help
  19. perch — the fish
  20. scale — size or range
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. root — of a word

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