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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: press · hide · staff · wax · date · stock · stick · pitcher

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. staff — employees
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. stock — goods
  7. press — to push
  8. stock — shares
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. press — a publisher
  11. wax — to grow
  12. staff — employees
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. press — newspapers
  20. staff — a stick
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. hide — to keep secret

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