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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: patient · wake · mine · charge · board · branch · march · clip

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. board — a committee
  4. march — the month
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. charge — electricity
  7. march — the month
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wake — a trail
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. charge — a price
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. clip — to cut
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. clip — for paper
  20. branch — a division
  21. charge — in control
  22. march — music
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. clip — a video

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