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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: fork · staff · season · land · spring · bat · stand · sharp

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. land — ground
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. land — a country
  8. season — in sport
  9. fork — in a road
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. land — to come down
  14. spring — of water
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. stand — to bear
  17. spring — a coil
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. season — of the year
  21. staff — a stick
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. spring — the season
  24. sharp — exactly

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