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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: rest · chest · press · season · suit · bass · stock · wind

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bass — the fish
  3. season — in sport
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. suit — to fit
  6. press — a publisher
  7. bass — low music
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. rest — a break
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rest — what's left
  14. wind — moving air
  15. suit — clothes
  16. suit — in cards
  17. stock — shares
  18. press — newspapers
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rest — what's left
  21. season — of the year
  22. chest — a box
  23. press — to push
  24. wind — moving air

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