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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: kick · wax · tear · chest · fan · pitch · swing · pitcher

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitch — completely
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. swing — in golf
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. swing — to play on
  19. kick — in football
  20. swing — music
  21. tear — to rip
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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