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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: content · march · pass · branch · patient · game · mine · lean

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. march — the month
  5. pass — a permit
  6. march — the month
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. mine — for digging
  9. game — a match
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — to bend
  13. content — the amount
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. march — music
  17. branch — a division
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. content — happy
  23. lean — thin
  24. game — wild animals

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