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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: wax · bore · sharp · straw · hand · pitch · mine · scale

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. scale — size or range
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — to drill
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. pitch — completely
  18. mine — for digging
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. scale — in music

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