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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: swing · fork · chest · branch · rush · dip · club · root

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. swing — music
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. club — for dancing
  6. swing — in golf
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. root — of a word
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. chest — of your body
  15. branch — a division
  16. club — a group
  17. root — the cause
  18. chest — a box
  19. swing — to play on
  20. rush — hurry
  21. fork — in a road
  22. root — of a plant
  23. club — for golf
  24. dip — to sink

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