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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: scale · mate · leaves · wax · present · lash · rest · cold

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. mate — a friend
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. present — a gift
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. wax — to grow
  9. present — there
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. scale — size or range
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. present — the time now
  17. scale — in music
  18. mate — a partner
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. rest — what's left
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mate — to breed
  24. leaves — of a tree

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