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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: band · march · press · stock · chip · charge · field · chest

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stock — shares
  6. field — farmland
  7. band — a music group
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chest — of your body
  10. field — for sport
  11. charge — in control
  12. chest — a box
  13. band — a ring
  14. charge — electricity
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. charge — a price
  17. press — a publisher
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. chip — for betting
  20. press — newspapers
  21. field — a subject
  22. press — to push
  23. stock — goods
  24. march — music

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