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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: lean · staff · capital · swing · net · straw · march · stick

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. capital — a city
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. net — for catching
  5. staff — employees
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. swing — in golf
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. lean — thin
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. staff — a stick
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. march — music
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. net — after costs
  20. lean — to bend
  21. net — in sport
  22. staff — employees
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — to play on

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