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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: toast · deal · press · vault · chest · stock · root · field

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. stock — goods
  6. root — of a word
  7. root — of a plant
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. stock — shares
  10. chest — a box
  11. vault — a safe
  12. press — a publisher
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. press — newspapers
  15. root — the cause
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. chest — of your body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. field — a subject
  23. chest — of your body
  24. toast — bread

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