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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 · arm · spell · season · object · ground · coach · kid

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. spell — letters
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. kid — to tease
  9. object — to protest
  10. object — a thing
  11. ground — the earth
  12. object — an aim
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. season — in sport
  15. ground — a position
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. spell — magic
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. kid — child
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. spell — a short time
  22. wax — to grow
  23. ground — crushed
  24. arm — 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