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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. field — farmland
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stem — to come from
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pop — music
  8. chair — a leader
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cell — in biology
  11. field — for sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pop — to visit
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pop — soda
  17. wind — moving air
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pound — a weight
  20. field — a subject
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pound — to hit hard

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