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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 116 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: club · pound · rash · coach · rule · bass · mug · branch

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. rule — government
  3. rule — a law
  4. rash — hasty
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. branch — a division
  7. club — a group
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. club — for dancing
  12. pound — a weight
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. mug — a face
  17. bass — low music
  18. rash — a series
  19. club — for golf
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. mug — to rob
  22. bass — the fish
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mug — a cup

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