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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · degree · bark · squash · press · stock

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — to crush
  3. press — newspapers
  4. bark — to shout
  5. stock — shares
  6. chair — a leader
  7. degree — an amount
  8. stock — goods
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. squash — the sport
  11. press — to push
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. press — a publisher
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bark — of a tree

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