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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: club · arm · bark · game · wax · branch · pitch · row

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wax — to grow
  5. club — a group
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. club — for golf
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bark — to shout
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. game — wild animals
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. club — for dancing
  22. row — a line
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. arm — part of the body

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