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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 120 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: stock · hand · squash · press · mouse · stem · kick · scale

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stock — goods
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. scale — size or range
  5. press — to push
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. press — a publisher
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. squash — the sport
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. press — newspapers
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. kick — in football
  22. scale — in music
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. squash — the vegetable

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