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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: press · ground · cold · stem · bay · pit · stock · chair

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pit — a hole
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. ground — the earth
  12. stock — goods
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. press — to push
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stem — to come from
  17. chair — a leader
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. ground — a position
  20. stock — shares
  21. ground — crushed
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. press — a publisher
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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