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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: band · arm · press · net · bear · squash · stock · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. press — a publisher
  3. squash — to crush
  4. press — to push
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pit — a hole
  7. squash — the sport
  8. stock — shares
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. band — a music group
  13. bear — the animal
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bear — the animal
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pit — in a race
  18. press — newspapers
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stock — goods
  22. band — a ring
  23. net — for catching
  24. squash — the vegetable

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