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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: deal · mate · patient · file · mine · last · root · rule

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. root — the cause
  3. mate — to breed
  4. root — of a word
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. file — a document
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. root — of a plant
  11. rule — a law
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. file — a line of people
  16. rule — government
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a tool
  20. last — to go on
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. deal — to handle
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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