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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 · fall · wax · rash · squash · wake · spring · lash

  1. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. squash — to crush
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. spring — of water
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. rash — hasty
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. staff — employees
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. rash — a series
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. wax — to grow
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. staff — a stick
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rash — on the skin

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