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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: track · content · stock · bat · deal · prune · trunk · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. content — happy
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. press — newspapers
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. track — to keep track
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stock — shares
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. prune — to trim
  19. stock — goods
  20. track — a song
  21. content — the amount
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. track — a path
  24. deal — to handle

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