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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: hand · stock · leaves · bore · chest · press · straw · stem

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. stock — shares
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bore — to drill
  6. stock — goods
  7. chest — of your body
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. chest — a box
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hand — in cards
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bore — to tire
  17. press — newspapers
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. hand — help
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bore — gave birth

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