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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: stock · tube · toast · press · bear · content · mine · roll

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. press — a publisher
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. roll — a list
  11. tube — a container
  12. press — to push
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. press — newspapers
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. tube — the underground
  20. stock — goods
  21. mine — for digging
  22. toast — bread
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. content — the amount

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