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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: press · squash · tear · stem · pitch · scale · wax · pitcher

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wax — to grow
  7. press — newspapers
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. scale — in music
  11. press — to push
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — the sport
  17. pitch — completely
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. scale — size or range
  22. stem — to come from
  23. tear — to rip
  24. squash — to crush

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