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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: spring · foot · capital · perch · drill · sharp · stand · bat

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. sharp — clever
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. drill — the tool
  11. foot — a measure
  12. capital — a city
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. perch — the fish
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. capital — money
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. stand — to bear
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spring — a coil

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