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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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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 · bat · lash · season · rest · mate · present · chest

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. rest — what's left
  3. season — of the year
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. mate — a partner
  9. rest — what's left
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. bat — the animal
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. present — a gift
  18. mate — a friend
  19. present — the time now
  20. chest — a box
  21. mate — to breed
  22. present — there
  23. wax — to grow
  24. rest — a break

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