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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: clip · stock · game · bay · lean · content · cell · press

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. clip — to cut
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. press — a publisher
  7. content — the amount
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. clip — for paper
  10. game — a match
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. clip — a video
  16. content — happy
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cell — in biology
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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