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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 116 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: bear · season · court · land · field · lean · board · wax

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. board — a committee
  4. bear — the animal
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. season — of the year
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lean — thin
  10. land — a country
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. court — for sport
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. court — of law
  16. field — a subject
  17. board — to get on
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. field — farmland
  22. court — of a king
  23. season — in sport
  24. field — for sport

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