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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: wound · coach · face · press · stock · net · pound · prune

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. press — a publisher
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. net — in sport
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. wound — an injury
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. press — newspapers
  12. stock — goods
  13. prune — to trim
  14. face — part of the head
  15. press — to push
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stock — shares
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. net — for catching
  23. pound — a weight
  24. net — after costs

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