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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: deal · stock · press · wind · chest · saw

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. 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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. press — a publisher
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. press — to push
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chest — of your body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stock — goods
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chest — of your body
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chest — a box
  17. stock — shares
  18. 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