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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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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: chest · wind · row · press · wound · clip · stock · cue

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. stock — goods
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. press — a publisher
  6. cue — a hint
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cue — for pool
  9. press — to push
  10. clip — a video
  11. press — newspapers
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. row — to paddle
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. stock — shares
  19. row — a line
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cue — a signal
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wound — an injury

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