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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 · clip · rest · land · craft · coach · can · press

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. stock — goods
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. craft — a skill
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. clip — for paper
  11. press — to push
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stock — shares
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. craft — boats
  18. press — newspapers
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. can — a tin
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. can — to be able to
  24. land — to come down

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