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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: file · chair · pop · current · press · stock · shower · field

  1. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. current — of water
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stock — shares
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pop — soda
  10. file — a document
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. press — newspapers
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. pop — music
  15. shower — rain
  16. file — a tool
  17. pop — to visit
  18. press — to push
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — electric
  21. chair — a leader
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stock — goods
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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