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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.

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: shower · mate · bass · wax · lash · arm · field · racket

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. mate — to breed
  4. shower — to wash
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wax — to grow
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. field — a subject
  9. bass — low music
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. mate — a partner
  13. field — farmland
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bass — the fish
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. field — for sport
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bass — the instrument

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