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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: mate · wax · rest · row · lash · spell · spring · staff

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. mate — a friend
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rest — a break
  6. mate — a partner
  7. rest — what's left
  8. staff — employees
  9. wax — to grow
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mate — to breed
  12. spell — a short time
  13. row — a line
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. row — to paddle
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. staff — a stick
  21. spell — magic
  22. spell — letters
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. staff — employees

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