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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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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: march · nail · coach · saw · branch · game · club · arm

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. saw — the tool
  5. march — the month
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. club — a group
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. game — wild animals
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. march — music
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. club — for golf
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. march — the month
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. branch — a division
  22. saw — the tool
  23. club — for dancing
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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