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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: tear · mark · press · stock · row · wound · cap · chair

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. mark — a trace
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. row — a line
  6. mark — a grade
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. press — a publisher
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stock — shares
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. tear — from crying
  20. press — to push
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cap — a lid

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