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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: bat · rule · saw · staff · patient · band · wax · kid

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — government
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. staff — employees
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. rule — a law
  12. staff — employees
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. saw — the tool
  16. band — a ring
  17. kid — to tease
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. staff — a stick
  21. band — a music group
  22. kid — child
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. saw — the tool

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