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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: branch · content · club · march · staff · last · coach · fine

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. last — finally
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. march — the month
  6. club — a group
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. march — music
  9. last — final
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. content — happy
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fine — high quality
  15. march — the month
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. last — to go on
  20. fine — all right
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. club — for dancing
  23. content — the amount
  24. branch — a division

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