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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: stock · mark · cabinet · ground · press · band · kick · last

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. band — a music group
  5. mark — a grade
  6. last — final
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. press — newspapers
  9. last — finally
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. ground — a position
  13. mark — a trace
  14. kick — in football
  15. press — to push
  16. last — to go on
  17. ground — crushed
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. ground — the earth
  20. press — a publisher
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stock — a soup base

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