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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: file · spring · staff · capital · stick · field · club · clip

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — a video
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — of water
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. spring — the season
  14. field — for sport
  15. club — for golf
  16. clip — to cut
  17. capital — money
  18. spring — a coil
  19. file — a document
  20. staff — employees
  21. file — a line of people
  22. capital — a city
  23. staff — a stick
  24. file — a tool

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