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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
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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: clip · wax · last · cue · pitch · season · bowl · stand

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. season — of the year
  4. clip — for paper
  5. cue — for pool
  6. season — in sport
  7. clip — a video
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wax — to grow
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. last — finally
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. last — final
  16. last — to go on
  17. pitch — completely
  18. stand — to bear
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. wax — in the ear

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