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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: rash · bowl · dip · cell · firm · patient · band · bat

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cell — in biology
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. firm — a company
  7. rash — hasty
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. firm — steady
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. firm — decided
  16. band — a music group
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. rash — a series
  19. cell — a phone
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bat — the animal
  24. band — a ring

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