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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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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: patient · cell · bat · last · dip · date · firm · fine

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. firm — steady
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cell — in biology
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. fine — all right
  16. firm — decided
  17. last — finally
  18. fine — high quality
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bat — the animal
  21. dip — to sink
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. firm — a company
  24. date — the fruit

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