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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: racket · kid · pitch · pit · wax · wound · bore · wake

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. kid — child
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. bore — to tire
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pit — a hole
  17. wake — a trail
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. kid — to tease
  24. racket — for tennis

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