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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: press · mark · stock · arm · content · pitcher · jam · mine

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stock — goods
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. press — to push
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. press — newspapers
  16. stock — shares
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — the amount
  19. press — a publisher
  20. mine — for digging
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. content — happy
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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