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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
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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: fan · wax · spring · staff · kid · prune · wake · rule

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — government
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wax — to grow
  8. spring — a coil
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spring — of water
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. kid — child
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — the season
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wake — a trail
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. staff — employees
  24. rule — a law

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