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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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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 · wax · mark · lash · racket · wind · bat · chip

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. chip — to eat
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. chip — for betting
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. mark — a trace
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. mark — a grade
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wax — in the ear

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