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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: band · sharp · game · wax · stem · pit · bark · pitcher

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. game — a match
  6. band — a ring
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. band — a music group
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — in a race

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