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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: leaves · last · root · race · patient · mark · cell · file

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. race — humankind
  6. root — of a word
  7. race — the arms race
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. root — the cause
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. file — a tool
  12. race — a contest
  13. last — to go on
  14. root — of a plant
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cell — in biology
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. file — a line of people
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a document
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mark — a grade

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