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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: stand · season · fork · bat · march · capital · hand · rest

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. march — the month
  4. season — in sport
  5. march — music
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. capital — a city
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. capital — money
  13. stand — to bear
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. march — the month
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bat — the animal
  22. hand — in cards
  23. season — of the year
  24. fork — in a road

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