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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: club · field · press · fall · chest · stock · bass · lean

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. press — newspapers
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bass — low music
  7. fall — the season
  8. club — for golf
  9. lean — to bend
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — the fish
  12. club — for dancing
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. club — a group
  17. press — a publisher
  18. chest — a box
  19. stock — goods
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stock — shares
  22. field — farmland
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bass — the instrument

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