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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: staff · wave · scale · bat · stand · land · bore · season

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bore — to tire
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. scale — size or range
  6. staff — a stick
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. land — a country
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — of the year
  14. land — ground
  15. scale — in music
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bore — to drill
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. season — in sport
  20. land — to come down
  21. stand — to bear
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. staff — employees

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