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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: tear · pass · march · rest · board · mate · branch · wake

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. march — the month
  7. rest — a break
  8. mate — a partner
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — to get on
  13. mate — to breed
  14. march — the month
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. rest — what's left
  17. wake — a trail
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. march — music
  21. rest — what's left
  22. board — a committee
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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