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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: stock · bay · clip · patient · chair · press · cell · rock

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. stock — goods
  3. press — a publisher
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. press — to push
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. clip — to cut
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rock — a stone
  10. chair — a leader
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. press — newspapers
  13. clip — a video
  14. rock — music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. clip — for paper
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. stock — shares
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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