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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: cabinet · capital · bat · swing · club · file · ground · branch

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. capital — money
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. branch — a division
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. swing — to play on
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. club — for dancing
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ground — crushed
  14. capital — a city
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. file — a line of people
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. ground — a position
  19. club — a group
  20. club — for golf
  21. swing — music
  22. file — a document
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bat — the animal

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