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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: hand · staff · wax · roll · wake · object · craft · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. hand — help
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. object — a thing
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. staff — employees
  7. object — an aim
  8. staff — employees
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. row — a line
  11. wax — to grow
  12. roll — a list
  13. row — to paddle
  14. wake — a trail
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. object — to protest
  17. hand — in cards
  18. roll — a cake
  19. staff — a stick
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. craft — boats
  23. craft — a skill
  24. hand — part of the body

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