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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: chest · club · branch · kick · game · march · row · deal

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. row — to paddle
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. branch — a division
  6. game — wild animals
  7. deal — to handle
  8. game — a match
  9. chest — a box
  10. chest — of your body
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. march — music
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. club — a group
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kick — in football
  18. club — for dancing
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. row — a line
  21. march — the month
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. march — the month

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