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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: last · lash · racket · wound · wax · shower · temple · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — final
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a friend
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. last — finally
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. shower — rain

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