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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: field · track · staff · fine · file · straw · capital · club

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. capital — money
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. track — to keep track
  5. field — for sport
  6. track — a path
  7. staff — a stick
  8. club — for golf
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. capital — a city
  11. fine — all right
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. club — a group
  14. file — a document
  15. staff — employees
  16. club — for dancing
  17. file — a tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. file — a line of people
  21. field — a subject
  22. staff — employees
  23. straw — a straw man
  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