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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 120 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: last · object · spring · lean · row · season · wax · chair

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. row — a line
  4. chair — a leader
  5. last — to go on
  6. last — finally
  7. last — final
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — a coil
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. object — an aim
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. season — in sport
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. row — to paddle
  19. season — of the year
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. spring — of water
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — a thing
  24. wax — to grow

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