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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: court · lie · prune · rash · wake · wax · rule · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rash — hasty
  3. court — for sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. court — of law
  9. rash — a series
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. court — of a king
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. rule — government
  16. wax — to grow
  17. staff — employees
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rule — a law
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. staff — a stick

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