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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: club · cue · wax · prune · band · rash · land · hand

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. land — ground
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. hand — help
  5. rash — hasty
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — to come down
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cue — for pool
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. hand — in cards
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cue — a hint
  16. land — a country
  17. prune — to trim
  18. club — a group
  19. rash — a series
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. prune — to trim
  23. band — a ring
  24. wax — in the ear

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