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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 120 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: pit · dip · patient · band · scale · lash · cell · mine

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. band — a music group
  6. cell — a phone
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cell — in biology
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. pit — a hole
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. pit — in a race
  17. scale — in music
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. band — a ring
  21. scale — size or range
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. scale — for weighing

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