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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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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: chair · field · lie · cap · bound · stock · kick · press

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. field — a subject
  8. bound — tied together
  9. press — to push
  10. chair — a leader
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. press — newspapers
  13. kick — in football
  14. stock — goods
  15. field — for sport
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cap — a lid
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bound — certain
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. lie — to recline
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. field — farmland
  24. bound — obliged

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