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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: cell · season · stock · trunk · can · face · press · stem

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. press — newspapers
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stock — goods
  15. cell — in biology
  16. stem — to come from
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cell — a phone
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. press — a publisher

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