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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: rule · date · patient · mate · chest · straw

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. chest — of your body
  3. date — the fruit
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mate — to breed
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — a law
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mate — a friend
  18. straw — dry grass

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