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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: bowl · chip · nail · swing · branch · land · club · hand

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. club — for golf
  4. land — a country
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. swing — music
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. chip — for betting
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. branch — a division
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. swing — in golf
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. land — ground
  18. hand — in cards
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. land — to come down
  21. hand — help
  22. swing — to play on
  23. club — a group
  24. nail — for a hammer

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