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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: press · ground · kick · stock · mark · band · stick · chest

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stock — goods
  3. press — to push
  4. band — a music group
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ground — a position
  11. press — a publisher
  12. ground — the earth
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mark — a grade
  15. stock — shares
  16. kick — in football
  17. press — newspapers
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a ring
  21. mark — a trace
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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