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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: mark · file · hand · bank · pitch · stem · racket · wax

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. bank — for money
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. file — a document
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a tool
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wax — to grow
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bank — for money
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — a grade
  20. pitch — completely
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bank — of a river

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