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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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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: foot · prune · wax · pitch · patient · bat · pound · chest

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitch — completely
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. prune — to trim
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. foot — a measure
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pound — a weight
  15. chest — a box
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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