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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: stock · wind · press · bear · kick · snap

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wind — moving air
  4. stock — goods
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to click
  7. press — to push
  8. bear — the animal
  9. press — newspapers
  10. stock — shares
  11. wind — moving air
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. bear — to put up with

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