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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: cue · date · trunk · rule · wax · leaves · band · swing

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. cue — a signal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. rule — government
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. band — a music group
  9. wax — to grow
  10. band — a ring
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. cue — for pool
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. swing — music
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. cue — a hint
  21. date — the fruit
  22. rule — a law
  23. swing — in golf
  24. band — a rubber band

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