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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: face · drill · rule · patient · rest · snap · mate · net

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. mate — to breed
  3. drill — army training
  4. rule — a law
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. face — to point toward
  7. net — in sport
  8. mate — a partner
  9. rest — a break
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rule — government
  13. net — after costs
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. face — to confront
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mate — a friend
  20. net — for catching
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. face — part of the head
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rest — what's left

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