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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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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: trunk · stem · clip · press · band · march · mark · stock

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. stock — goods
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — newspapers
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. march — the month
  11. clip — to cut
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. band — a music group
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mark — a grade
  16. clip — a video
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — for paper
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stock — shares
  22. mark — a trace
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. press — to push

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