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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.

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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 · bark · wax · press · sharp · lie · file · wound

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pitch — completely
  4. wound — an injury
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wax — to grow
  8. file — a line of people
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. press — newspapers
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. press — a publisher
  17. press — to push
  18. file — a document
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. file — a tool
  22. wound — an injury
  23. lie — to recline
  24. sharp — exactly

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