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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: racket · march · bear · press · stock · chest · wind · board

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bear — the animal
  3. press — a publisher
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. board — to get on
  8. stock — goods
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. board — a committee
  12. march — the month
  13. bear — the animal
  14. march — the month
  15. press — to push
  16. march — music
  17. wind — moving air
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stock — shares
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. chest — of your body
  24. press — newspapers

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