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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 120 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 · press · perch · charge · sharp · degree · content · wound

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — happy
  3. charge — electricity
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. perch — the fish
  6. press — a publisher
  7. degree — from a university
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. press — to push
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. degree — an amount
  13. charge — in control
  14. sharp — clever
  15. stock — shares
  16. charge — a price
  17. stock — goods
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. degree — temperature
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. press — newspapers
  23. content — the amount
  24. perch — for a bird

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