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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 116 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: tear · wax · pass · club · mate · kick · pitcher · sharp

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mate — to breed
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. wax — to grow
  8. club — for dancing
  9. tear — from crying
  10. pass — a permit
  11. tear — to rip
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. mate — a friend
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. club — for golf
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — in football
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. club — a group
  24. mate — a partner

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