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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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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: pound · row · club · dip · swing · march · branch · bore

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. march — music
  3. club — a group
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. march — the month
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. swing — music
  10. row — a line
  11. pound — a weight
  12. swing — in golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. dip — to sink
  15. swing — to play on
  16. bore — to drill
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. club — for golf
  22. bore — to tire
  23. march — the month
  24. row — to paddle

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