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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: club · bank · game · land · rush · branch · cold · board

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. board — to get on
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. land — a country
  6. game — a match
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bank — for money
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bank — of a river
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. club — for dancing
  15. board — a committee
  16. club — for golf
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bank — for money
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. club — a group
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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