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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: last · press · stand · bay · stem · chest · clip · stock

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. last — to go on
  3. clip — a video
  4. press — to push
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. clip — for paper
  11. last — final
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. stock — shares
  18. last — finally
  19. press — newspapers
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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