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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: wake · press · net · bark · stock · chair · wave · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. press — newspapers
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chair — a leader
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. net — after costs
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — not warm
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. press — to push
  19. stock — goods
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. chair — to sit on
  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