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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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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: dip · cell · saw · wind · wax · prune · pitch · mate

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. mate — to breed
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitch — completely
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. mate — a partner
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. saw — the tool
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cell — in biology
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wax — to grow
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. mate — a friend
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — to sink

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