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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: board · arm · spell · march · fork · land · chest · branch

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. branch — a division
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — magic
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. land — a country
  9. chest — a box
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. land — to come down
  12. fork — in a road
  13. march — the month
  14. board — a committee
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. spell — a short time
  17. march — music
  18. march — the month
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. board — to get on
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. chest — of your body
  24. land — ground

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