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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: chest · object · patient · march · kid · pop · deal · stock

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. march — the month
  4. pop — to visit
  5. deal — to handle
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. chest — of your body
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. object — an aim
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. object — a thing
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pop — soda
  16. kid — to tease
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kid — child
  19. stock — goods
  20. stock — shares
  21. chest — a box
  22. march — music
  23. pop — music
  24. object — to protest

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