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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 120 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: club · bark · file · chair · pitch · branch · band · mouse

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. band — a music group
  3. file — a line of people
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. branch — a division
  8. band — a ring
  9. pitch — completely
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. bark — to shout
  15. club — for dancing
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. club — for golf
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. file — a document
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. club — a group
  24. bark — of a tree

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