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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: swing · staff · track · club · lean · capital · prune · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. prune — to trim
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — for dancing
  5. file — a line of people
  6. track — to keep track
  7. swing — music
  8. lean — to bend
  9. staff — employees
  10. swing — in golf
  11. capital — a city
  12. staff — a stick
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. file — a document
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. lean — thin
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. swing — to play on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. capital — money
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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