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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: chair · rule · patient · stem · toast · wind · pop · pound

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pound — a weight
  6. rule — a law
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chair — a leader
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. stem — to come from
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wind — moving air
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pop — to visit
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. rule — government
  24. wind — moving air

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