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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: press · ground · stock · cold · bank · wake · wax · object

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. press — to push
  3. ground — a position
  4. object — a thing
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. ground — crushed
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. press — a publisher
  18. stock — shares
  19. wax — to grow
  20. object — to protest
  21. press — newspapers
  22. bank — of a river
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. object — an aim

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