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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: stem · snap · patient · pound · chest · cell

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. snap — to click
  5. pound — a weight
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chest — a box
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cell — a phone

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