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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: chair · press · ground · season · leaves · bark · lean · stock

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. ground — a position
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. bark — to shout
  6. ground — crushed
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. press — a publisher
  10. season — in sport
  11. press — to push
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. ground — the earth
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. press — newspapers
  17. lean — to bend
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. stock — goods
  21. stock — shares
  22. season — of the year
  23. lean — thin
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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