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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · mate · capital · season · swing · wound · lash · wax

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. capital — money
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. mate — a partner
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. mate — a friend
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. season — in sport
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wax — to grow
  16. swing — music
  17. capital — a city
  18. swing — in golf
  19. season — of the year
  20. swing — to play on
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. stem — a stem cell

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