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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: root · scale · bass · branch · club · march · chest · pound

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. club — for golf
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. branch — a division
  6. bass — low music
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. chest — of your body
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. club — a group
  11. march — the month
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bass — the fish
  14. march — the month
  15. root — the cause
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. root — of a word
  18. chest — a box
  19. club — for dancing
  20. scale — size or range
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. root — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. scale — in music

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