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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: pop · club · board · date · row · hand · wind · branch

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. hand — help
  4. pop — music
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. club — for golf
  7. pop — to visit
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. club — a group
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. board — to get on
  13. hand — in cards
  14. club — for dancing
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. wind — moving air
  17. row — a line
  18. pop — soda
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. board — a committee
  22. row — to paddle
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. date — the fruit

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