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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: wax · fork · ground · mate · lash · staff · clip · saw

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. staff — employees
  6. wax — to grow
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. staff — a stick
  9. saw — the tool
  10. clip — a video
  11. mate — to breed
  12. clip — for paper
  13. staff — employees
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. ground — the earth
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ground — a position
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mate — a friend

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