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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · wax · chest · mouse · mark · wake · plane · pitch

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chest — a box
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. wax — to grow
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cold — an illness
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. pitch — completely
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. mouse — for a computer

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