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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: wax · season · tear · object · race · chair

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. race — a contest
  3. wax — to grow
  4. object — to protest
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. object — an aim
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. tear — from crying
  10. season — in sport
  11. race — humankind
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. chair — a leader
  14. race — the arms race
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. season — of the year
  18. object — a thing

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