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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 · bound · fork · last · stock · chip · key · bat

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. chip — for betting
  4. stock — goods
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bat — the animal
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. key — for a lock
  11. press — newspapers
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. key — the most important part
  15. stock — shares
  16. bound — tied together
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bound — obliged
  21. press — to push
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. key — in music
  24. bound — certain

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