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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: chest · net · stock · bound · firm · degree · ball · press

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. firm — a company
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stock — shares
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. degree — temperature
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. bound — tied together
  9. chest — a box
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. press — to push
  13. bound — certain
  14. degree — an amount
  15. ball — a great time
  16. degree — from a university
  17. chest — of your body
  18. firm — decided
  19. ball — a dance
  20. press — newspapers
  21. firm — steady
  22. net — after costs
  23. press — a publisher
  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