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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: date · cold · row · wake · patient · rash · cell · dip

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. dip — to sink
  5. rash — a series
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cold — not warm
  8. rash — hasty
  9. cell — a phone
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. row — a line
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wake — a trail
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. date — the fruit
  23. cold — an illness
  24. dip — a sauce

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