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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: straw · kid · chair · toast · press · stock · fan · perch

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. stock — shares
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. toast — bread
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. stock — goods
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — child
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. perch — the fish
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. press — to push
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. press — newspapers
  24. chair — a leader

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