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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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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: press · chest · current · scale · tear · pitch · ball · stock

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chest — of your body
  4. press — a publisher
  5. scale — in music
  6. stock — shares
  7. chest — of your body
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. scale — size or range
  10. current — of water
  11. stock — goods
  12. chest — a box
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. current — electric
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. ball — a dance
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. press — newspapers
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. pitch — completely
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — to push
  23. current — happening now
  24. tear — to rip

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