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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 120 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: rest · land · lash · patient · ruler · chip · last · leaves

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. last — to go on
  4. land — ground
  5. chip — for betting
  6. rest — what's left
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. land — to come down
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. last — finally
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rest — a break
  15. land — a country
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chip — to eat
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rest — what's left
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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