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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 · current · content · march · lash · rest · land · patient

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. current — of water
  3. march — music
  4. rest — what's left
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. land — a country
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mate — to breed
  12. mate — a friend
  13. rest — a break
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. current — electric
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. land — ground
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. land — to come down
  20. march — the month
  21. rest — what's left
  22. current — happening now
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. march — the month

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