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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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468
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: fall · bore · march · branch · clip · mate · stand · object

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — for paper
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. mate — to breed
  6. march — the month
  7. bore — to tire
  8. fall — the season
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. stand — to bear
  11. march — music
  12. clip — a video
  13. mate — a friend
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. march — the month
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mate — a partner
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. object — to protest
  20. bore — to drill
  21. fall — to drop
  22. object — an aim
  23. clip — to cut
  24. object — a thing

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