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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · ground · bass · march · club · roll · race · branch

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. march — the month
  3. club — for dancing
  4. branch — a division
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. march — the month
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. ground — crushed
  10. race — the arms race
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. club — for golf
  15. race — a contest
  16. ground — a position
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. club — a group
  19. race — humankind
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. march — music
  22. chair — a leader
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — a cake

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