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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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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: ball · mate · row · lash · wave · mine · tear · pop

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mate — a partner
  4. row — to paddle
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pop — music
  7. mate — a friend
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ball — a dance
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mate — to breed
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. row — a line
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. pop — soda
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wave — of the sea

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