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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: swing · fall · hand · rest · band · mate · wax · staff

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. rest — a break
  4. mate — to breed
  5. staff — employees
  6. wax — to grow
  7. band — a music group
  8. staff — a stick
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fall — the season
  11. band — a ring
  12. mate — a friend
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. mate — a partner
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — in golf
  20. hand — in cards
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fall — to drop
  23. staff — employees
  24. hand — help

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