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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 · mark · cell · leaves · pop · march · rush · board

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. mark — a grade
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. rush — hurry
  5. pop — music
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. board — to get on
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. board — a committee
  19. march — the month
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cell — in biology

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