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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: mate · patient · cell · chair · rush · present

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mate — a friend
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. present — a gift
  10. mate — a partner
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. chair — a leader

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