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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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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: deal · stock · press · wind · chest · saw · present · row

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. present — the time now
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. press — to push
  9. wind — moving air
  10. saw — the tool
  11. present — there
  12. stock — goods
  13. saw — the tool
  14. press — a publisher
  15. chest — a box
  16. row — to paddle
  17. deal — to handle
  18. press — newspapers
  19. stock — shares
  20. present — a gift
  21. wind — moving air
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. chest — of your body

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