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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 · snap · date · fan · rule · season · land · cell

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. cell — a phone
  4. land — ground
  5. season — in sport
  6. snap — to click
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rule — a law
  9. cell — in biology
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. rule — government
  13. land — a country
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. season — of the year
  23. land — to come down
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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