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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · field · game

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

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. object — to protest
  3. tear — to rip
  4. race — the arms race
  5. season — of the year
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chair — a leader
  9. field — farmland
  10. wax — to grow
  11. object — an aim
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a match
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. race — humankind
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. field — for sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. field — a subject
  21. object — a thing
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. season — in sport
  24. race — a contest

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