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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: lie · pitch · tear · track · land · cabinet · wax · hand

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitch — completely
  4. track — to keep track
  5. lie — to recline
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. land — ground
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tear — to rip
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. track — a path
  14. hand — help
  15. track — a song
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. pitch — a sports field

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