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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: staff · hand · kick · wax · net · spring · season · rock

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. season — of the year
  3. rock — music
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. staff — employees
  6. hand — help
  7. spring — of water
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wax — to grow
  10. kick — in football
  11. net — after costs
  12. spring — a coil
  13. hand — in cards
  14. staff — a stick
  15. season — in sport
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. net — for catching
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. staff — employees
  24. net — in 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