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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: mine · roll · club · drill · rule · patient · cell · mate

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. drill — the tool
  4. roll — a cake
  5. mate — a partner
  6. roll — a list
  7. club — for dancing
  8. mate — to breed
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. mine — for digging
  12. rule — a law
  13. club — a group
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mate — a friend
  18. club — for golf
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cell — a phone
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cell — in biology

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