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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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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: date · rest · bat · wax · cell · leaves · pitch · bowl

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wax — to grow
  4. rest — what's left
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. rest — what's left
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cell — in biology
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rest — a break
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. leaves — of a tree

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