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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · chest · mine · file · fork · stock · fine · wake

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mine — for digging
  4. file — a document
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. stock — goods
  8. chest — a box
  9. fine — high quality
  10. fork — in a road
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. file — a line of people
  14. press — a publisher
  15. file — a tool
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. chest — of your body
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. press — newspapers
  20. fine — all right
  21. press — to push
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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