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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.

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: press · degree · fall · stock · bass · present · content · wound

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. stock — shares
  3. press — to push
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. degree — temperature
  10. present — there
  11. bass — low music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fall — the season
  14. content — happy
  15. present — the time now
  16. degree — an amount
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — the amount
  19. stock — goods
  20. degree — from a university
  21. wound — an injury
  22. present — a gift
  23. bass — the fish
  24. press — a publisher

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