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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 116 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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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: row · club · sharp · tube · branch · kick

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. club — for golf
  5. row — to paddle
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. sharp — clever
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tube — a container
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. club — a group
  13. row — a line
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. club — for dancing
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division

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