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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · rule · spring · pass · date · rest · content · patient

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — of water
  4. hand — in cards
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. spring — the season
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. rest — a break
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. hand — help
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. rule — a law
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pass — a permit

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