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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 116 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: board · degree · leaves · bound · clip · branch · squash · patient

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. degree — from a university
  3. board — to get on
  4. bound — obliged
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bound — tied together
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. squash — to crush
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. squash — the sport
  15. degree — an amount
  16. branch — a division
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bound — certain
  21. clip — a video
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. leaves — to go away

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