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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: game · staff · hand · land · wax · pitch · race · wind

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. game — wild animals
  3. race — a contest
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wax — to grow
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — the arms race
  8. staff — a stick
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. staff — employees
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. land — to come down
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. game — a match
  17. pitch — completely
  18. staff — employees
  19. hand — help
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wind — to turn a key

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