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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: pitch · wake · press · chair · key · last · wax · bank

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bank — of a river
  4. press — to push
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. key — in music
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bank — for money
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. press — newspapers
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — the most important part
  15. wake — a trail
  16. chair — a leader
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. bank — for money
  19. last — to go on
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. last — finally
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. press — a publisher

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