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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: perch · bat · pop · firm · patient · last · object · date

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. firm — a company
  3. pop — soda
  4. last — finally
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. pop — music
  8. object — an aim
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. firm — steady
  11. object — a thing
  12. object — to protest
  13. pop — to visit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. last — final
  16. date — the fruit
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. last — to go on
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. firm — decided
  24. bat — the animal

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