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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: root · chest · stem · stand · kid · patient · bear · last

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. kid — child
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bear — the animal
  10. root — the cause
  11. last — to go on
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. root — of a word
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stand — to bear
  19. chest — a box
  20. kid — to tease
  21. chest — of your body
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. root — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

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