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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: stock · clip · staff · bay · press · row · march · bore

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. staff — employees
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. row — to paddle
  9. clip — to cut
  10. march — the month
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — music
  13. staff — employees
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — the month
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. bore — to drill
  22. clip — a video
  23. row — a line
  24. press — to push

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