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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: mouse · stock · stem · fine · wind · snap · last · press

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. last — final
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. last — finally
  6. snap — to click
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — high quality
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stock — goods
  14. last — to go on
  15. stock — shares
  16. stem — to come from
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. press — to push
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. fine — all right
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. wind — moving air

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