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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: march · capital · bound · wax · press · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. press — to push
  3. march — the month
  4. press — newspapers
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bound — tied together
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. capital — money
  11. press — a publisher
  12. march — music
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bound — obliged
  15. capital — a city
  16. march — the month
  17. bound — certain
  18. chair — a leader

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