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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: march · row · swing · drill · pound · branch · last · stem

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. last — to go on
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. swing — to play on
  8. row — to paddle
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pound — a weight
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. last — finally
  14. drill — army training
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. swing — music
  18. march — the month
  19. branch — a division
  20. drill — a practice
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. swing — in golf
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. last — final

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