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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: wax · pitch · fall · swing · fan · capital · pitcher · pound

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. swing — to play on
  6. capital — money
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. capital — a city
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. swing — music
  22. wax — to grow
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. fall — to drop

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