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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: wake · ground · patient · saw · clip · wax · race · lash

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. ground — the earth
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wax — to grow
  12. clip — to cut
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. clip — a video
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. race — a contest
  20. ground — a position
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. clip — for paper
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wake — before a funeral

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