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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 · rule · leaves · clip · saw · press · stem · pitch

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stock — goods
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stock — shares
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. press — to push
  12. saw — the tool
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. clip — a video
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. pitch — completely
  18. press — newspapers
  19. rule — a law
  20. rule — government
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. press — a publisher
  24. rule — to rule out

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