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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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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 · pit · march · chair · staff · rest · branch · row

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. branch — a division
  3. club — a group
  4. pit — a hole
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rest — what's left
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. row — a line
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. staff — a stick
  13. rest — what's left
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. chair — a leader
  17. rest — a break
  18. pit — in a race
  19. staff — employees
  20. march — music
  21. club — for golf
  22. row — to paddle
  23. club — for dancing
  24. staff — employees

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