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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 · row · saw · branch · march · last · land · staff

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. march — the month
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a line
  7. staff — employees
  8. march — music
  9. last — finally
  10. club — a group
  11. staff — employees
  12. land — a country
  13. last — final
  14. branch — a division
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. staff — a stick
  19. land — to come down
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — ground
  22. club — for dancing
  23. row — to paddle
  24. last — to go on

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