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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: march · stick · bear · lean · kid · press

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bear — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. press — a publisher
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. kid — child
  9. press — to push
  10. lean — to bend
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lean — thin
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. press — newspapers
  18. march — the month

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