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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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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: mine · lean · swing · cabinet · club · net · prune · track

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. club — for dancing
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. swing — music
  5. track — a song
  6. club — a group
  7. lean — to bend
  8. net — in sport
  9. track — to keep track
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. lean — thin
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. track — a path
  15. club — for golf
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. mine — for digging
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. net — for catching
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. net — after costs

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