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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 120 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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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: mate · swing · wake · last · wax · pitcher · bat · row

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. mate — a friend
  3. last — finally
  4. last — final
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — music
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wake — a trail
  16. row — a line
  17. mate — a partner
  18. mate — to breed
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. row — to paddle
  24. pitcher — a jug

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