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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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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: pound · patient · deal · kid · object · pop · cap · stand

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. pop — to visit
  3. deal — to handle
  4. cap — of ice
  5. pop — music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cap — a hat
  8. stand — to bear
  9. object — an aim
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. object — to protest
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cap — a lid
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. object — a thing
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. kid — child
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. pop — soda
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — for dogs

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