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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: bear · kid · patient · chair · stem · pitch

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bear — the animal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. stem — a stem cell

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