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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: dip · press · band · trunk · clip · rash · march · stock

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. clip — a video
  5. rash — a series
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. stock — shares
  8. dip — to sink
  9. press — a publisher
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. band — a music group
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rash — hasty
  15. march — music
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — goods
  19. clip — for paper
  20. press — to push
  21. band — a ring
  22. march — the month
  23. press — newspapers
  24. dip — to dunk

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