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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 116 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: stem · pop · patient · fall · band · kid · pitcher · key

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. band — a ring
  5. pop — music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. key — in music
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pop — to visit
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fall — the season
  15. key — the most important part
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fall — to drop
  21. band — a music group
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pop — soda
  24. pitcher — a jug

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