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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: patient · mate · key · land · rest · chest · snap · cell

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cell — a phone
  3. land — a country
  4. chest — of your body
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. key — for a lock
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mate — to breed
  13. key — in music
  14. rest — a break
  15. chest — of your body
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mate — a partner
  19. land — to come down
  20. cell — in biology
  21. chest — a box
  22. snap — to click
  23. key — the most important part
  24. land — ground

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