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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: season · march · chip · cold · club · snap · branch · plane

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. march — the month
  6. club — for dancing
  7. snap — to click
  8. march — music
  9. club — a group
  10. cold — not warm
  11. chip — for betting
  12. season — of the year
  13. cold — an illness
  14. march — the month
  15. season — in sport
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — a division
  20. club — for golf
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. plane — a tool
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. branch — of a bank

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