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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.

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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: clip · row · mug · coach · deal · stock · chest · press

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. deal — to handle
  5. row — a line
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mug — to rob
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — a video
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mug — a cup
  14. stock — goods
  15. mug — a face
  16. press — to push
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stock — shares
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. press — a publisher
  23. clip — for paper
  24. press — newspapers

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