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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 116 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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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: present · object · degree · press · stock · row

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. press — a publisher
  3. press — newspapers
  4. stock — shares
  5. degree — temperature
  6. object — to protest
  7. degree — an amount
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. object — an aim
  11. present — a gift
  12. press — to push
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. row — to paddle
  15. degree — from a university
  16. object — a thing
  17. present — the time now
  18. stock — goods

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