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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: mine · snap · kid · press · rest · wound · stock · pop

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stock — shares
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kid — child
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. press — newspapers
  12. pop — soda
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — music
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. snap — to click
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. press — to push
  21. rest — a break
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kid — to tease
  24. press — a publisher

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