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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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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: press · stock · degree · dip · rule · fork · fall · chest

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rule — a law
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. degree — temperature
  9. fork — in a road
  10. fall — to drop
  11. degree — an amount
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. press — to push
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fall — to drop
  17. dip — to sink
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. press — a publisher
  22. fall — the season
  23. press — newspapers
  24. rule — government

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