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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: pop · rule · pound · land · kid · patient · stem · chest

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pound — a weight
  3. chest — of your body
  4. kid — child
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pop — music
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. kid — to tease
  12. land — ground
  13. pop — soda
  14. land — to come down
  15. rule — government
  16. pop — to visit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rule — a law
  23. land — a country
  24. chest — a box

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