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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: row · tear · club · leaves · mine · swing · branch · plane

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. row — a line
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. club — for golf
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. plane — a tool
  8. row — to paddle
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. swing — music
  11. mine — for digging
  12. swing — in golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. branch — a division
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. swing — to play on
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. tear — from crying
  19. club — a group
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. plane — an aircraft

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