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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: chair · coach · march · press · stick · band

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — the month
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. band — a music group
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. march — music
  12. press — newspapers
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. march — the month
  16. band — a ring
  17. press — to push
  18. press — a publisher

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