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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: bass · stock · march · field · squash · cell · press · mark

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. squash — the sport
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. march — the month
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. stock — goods
  8. bass — low music
  9. cell — a phone
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. field — a subject
  13. bass — the fish
  14. march — the month
  15. press — to push
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. march — music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. press — a publisher
  21. stock — shares
  22. cell — in biology
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. mark — a grade

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