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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: branch · swing · jam · date · club · wind · saw · arm

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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. club — for dancing
  4. swing — to play on
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. swing — music
  10. wind — moving air
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. swing — in golf
  16. club — a group
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wind — moving air
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. branch — a division

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