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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: staff · wax · bat · cell · land · prune · fall · calf

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bat — the animal
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. staff — a stick
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. staff — employees
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fall — the season
  13. staff — employees
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. prune — to trim
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. cell — in biology
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fall — to drop
  24. land — to come down

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