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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: board · net · bark · straw · stock · bear · press · sharp

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bear — the animal
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. net — after costs
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. sharp — clever
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stock — shares
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. press — newspapers
  16. net — in sport
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bark — to shout
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. press — a publisher
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. stock — goods
  24. net — for catching

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