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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: lean · pitch · wax · swing · game · kick · drill · stick

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. drill — the tool
  5. swing — in golf
  6. kick — in football
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. drill — army training
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. swing — music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. lean — to bend
  16. wax — to grow
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pitch — completely
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. game — a match
  24. wax — for sculpting

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