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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: row · march · kid · coach · press · swing

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. press — a publisher
  3. kid — to tease
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. press — newspapers
  10. march — music
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. swing — music
  13. march — the month
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. march — the month
  17. row — to paddle
  18. press — to push

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