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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · wind · cold · press · firm · court · plane · can

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. press — to push
  6. firm — decided
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. cold — an illness
  12. court — for sport
  13. firm — a company
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — of a king
  16. stock — shares
  17. court — of law
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. press — newspapers
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — goods
  23. plane — a tool
  24. firm — steady

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