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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: craft · last · mate · lash · arm · wax · season · row

  1. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mate — to breed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. last — to go on
  6. craft — a skill
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. row — a line
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. last — finally
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. last — final
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. row — to paddle
  21. mate — a friend
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. craft — boats

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