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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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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 · date · club · pound · chair · march

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. press — to push
  4. club — a group
  5. date — the fruit
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. march — the month
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. club — for dancing
  11. press — newspapers
  12. march — the month
  13. chair — a leader
  14. pound — a weight
  15. march — music
  16. press — a publisher
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. chair — to sit on

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