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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.

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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: squash · lash · wax · bowl · cold · mate · ground · stand

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stand — to bear
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mate — a friend
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. wax — to grow
  15. ground — a position
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. ground — crushed
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cold — an illness
  21. squash — the sport
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mate — to breed
  24. squash — the vegetable

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